Fatih Birol
Encyclopedia
Dr Fatih Birol is the Chief Economist
of the International Energy Agency
and Director, Office of The Chief Economist, with overall responsibility for the organisation's economic analysis of energy and climate change
policy. He oversees the annual World Energy Outlook
series which is the flagship publication of the IEA
and is recognized as an authoritative source for energy analysis and projections.
He is also responsible for the IEA
Energy Business Council which provides policymakers with a business perspective on energy market
issues.
In 2009, alongside awards from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Polish Ministry of Economy, Dr. Birol was honoured with the Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland). He was awarded the Golden Honour Medal of the Austrian Republic in 2007 and was made a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Government in 2006. He received the annual award of the International Association of Energy Economics for 'Outstanding Contribution to the Profession' in 2005. These followed awards from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2004 and the Russian Academy of Sciences
in 2002.
, Dr Birol worked for six years at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna
.
He is a frequent contributor to print and electronic media
and delivers numerous speeches each year at major international summits and conferences
.
He earned a BSc
degree
in power engineering
from the Technical University of Istanbul. He received his MSc
and PhD
in energy economics
from the Technical University of Vienna.
in the next two decades instead of burning coal”.
Chief economist
The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis...
of the International Energy Agency
International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
and Director, Office of The Chief Economist, with overall responsibility for the organisation's economic analysis of energy and climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
policy. He oversees the annual World Energy Outlook
World Energy Outlook
The annual World Energy Outlook is the International Energy Agency's flagship publication and it is widely recognised as the most authoritative energy source for global energy projections and analysis. It represents the leading source for medium to long-term energy market projections, extensive...
series which is the flagship publication of the IEA
International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
and is recognized as an authoritative source for energy analysis and projections.
He is also responsible for the IEA
International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
Energy Business Council which provides policymakers with a business perspective on energy market
Energy market
Energy markets are those commodities markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy...
issues.
Awards
Throughout his career, Dr. Birol has been decorated with numerous awards in recognition of his contribution to the energy debate. He was recently named by Forbes Magazine as the world's fourth most powerful person in terms of influence on the world's energy scene.In 2009, alongside awards from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Polish Ministry of Economy, Dr. Birol was honoured with the Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland). He was awarded the Golden Honour Medal of the Austrian Republic in 2007 and was made a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Government in 2006. He received the annual award of the International Association of Energy Economics for 'Outstanding Contribution to the Profession' in 2005. These followed awards from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2004 and the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
in 2002.
Early career
Prior to joining the IEAInternational Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
, Dr Birol worked for six years at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
He is a frequent contributor to print and electronic media
Electronic media
Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user to access the content. This is in contrast to static media , which today are most often created electronically, but don't require electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form...
and delivers numerous speeches each year at major international summits and conferences
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
.
He earned a BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in power engineering
Power engineering
Power engineering, also called power systems engineering, is a subfield of engineering that deals with the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power as well as the electrical devices connected to such systems including generators, motors and transformers...
from the Technical University of Istanbul. He received his MSc
MSC
- Computers:* Mario Strikers Charged* Microsoft Common Console Document, file for the Microsoft Management Console* Microelectronics Support Centre* Microsoft Corporation* MIDI Show Control* Message Sequence Chart...
and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in energy economics
Energy economics
Energy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Due to diversity of issues and methods applied and shared with a number of academic disciplines, energy economics does not present itself as a self contained academic...
from the Technical University of Vienna.
Outlook
In the International Energy Agency annual World Energy Outlook report, 2011, Birol is quoted as saying “Energy will become viciously more expensive and polluting if governments don’t promote renewable and nuclear powerNuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
in the next two decades instead of burning coal”.