Philippe Benoit

Philippe Benoit is an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs's (SIPA) Center on Global Energy Policy, where he focuses on the energy and development challenges facing emerging economies. Part of Benoit's work in this area looks at the opportunities and challenges associated with state-owned enterprises in realizing the global energy transition. He has over 25 years of experience in energy, finance and climate policy, and has worked on energy and infrastructure financing in both advanced economies and developing countries across the Americas, Asia, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Benoit is also currently Research Director for Global Infrastructure Analytics and Sustainability 2050, and Senior Associate (Non-Resident) with the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He previously served as head of the Energy, Environment and Energy Efficiency Divisions at the IEA from 2011 to 2016. In addition to Benoit's time at the IEA, he worked for over 15 years at the World Bank, including as energy sector manager for Latin America and the Caribbean and as adviser to the managing director in the office of the World Bank president. Benoit was also a director in Société Générale's Energy Project Finance Department and worked as a corporate lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton. Throughout his career, Benoit has contributed to more than 100 publications in the areas of clean energy, international development and climate change. He holds a JD from Harvard Law School, a BA in economics and political science from Yale University and a Masters in trade law from the University of Paris.