Energy Transition in a Changing Climate

 

UK-Colombia shaping Clean Energy following the ‘1st Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels’

 

 

Biographies

Dr. Valérie Marcel ( Country Level – National Context)

Dr Valérie Marcel is co-founder and executive director of the New Producers for Sustainable Energy(formerly New Producers Group), a South-South peer-to-peer government network bringing together 23 emerging oil and gas producer countries. Valérie’s research focuses on national oil companies, petroleum sector governance, decarbonisation and transition pathways for oil and gas producers. She has published on these issues as a Research Associate at SOAS and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, including Left Behind: Emerging Oil and Gas Producers in a Warming World and Oil Titans: National Oil Companies in the Middle East. Valerie sits on various advisory councils,including at Oxford’s TIDE Centre, the Natural Resource Governance Institute, the OECD, and the Payne Institute.

Dr. Armando Zamora (Global Level – Geopolitical Aspects)

Armando Zamora is currently an independent consultant and advisor on the energy transition and is director of the Centre for Studies on Carbon and Energy Management in Bogotá, as well as deputy director of the Energy Producers for Sustainable Energy Group in London.

He was a deputy director of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee in Scotland, where he is currently a Honorary Lecturer, before being appointed as President of the National Hydrocrabons Agency of Colombia where he served across four governments; and has been a senior consultant and director with various international consultancies, including the Boston Consulting Group, AT Kerney, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Accenture Energy Strategy, and Ilex Energy Consulting (now AFRY).

He is an engineer from Los Andes University in Bogotá and has graduate degrees on Nuclear Engineering and Energy Policy and Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US; and an MBA from the International Management Development Institute in Lausanne.

Louise Winstanley (Communities & Stakeholders)

Programme & Advocacy Manager ABColombia (British and Irish Agencies working in Colombia)- MSc Globalisation and Latin American Development

Louise has worked on the issues of human rights and sustainable development in Colombia since 2003. In her role in ABColombia she has worked in advocating in favour of human and environmental rights, peace, justice and sustainable development, women rights and equality, and the rights of marginalised communities.

Prior to ABColombia, Louise worked as Advocacy Officer for Peace Brigades International UK section. Before this, she spent two years in Colombia working as an international observer with PBI. She is the author of ABColombia’s reports and has contributed to a book on Unarmed Resistance and Global Solidarity.

Carolina Caneva – ( Building Level -Cities & Built Environment)

Carolina is an Associate Director at Hilson Moran. Over her 20-year career in building sustainability consultancy, she has worked across engineering consultancies, architectural practices, and development banks, delivering high-impact projects ranging from policy advisory to large-scale masterplans.

Her expertise lies in building performance analysis—particularly operational energy and climate change adaptation—spanning the planning to post-planning stages to ensure strategies are effectively implemented. Her notable projects include net-zero-ready refurbishments in Westminster and the City of London, where she achieved top BREEAM and WELL ratings while integrating circularity, low-carbon materials, rainwater harvesting, biodiversity-positive design, and green infrastructure. Internationally, she has delivered policy advisory projects such as the Green Building Code in Colombia, where she led the technical analysis and actively engaged public and private stakeholders. Carolina was also part of the technical team that framed the IFC’s EDGE programme and led its implementation in Latin America.

Beyond her project work, she has served as a technical reviewer for the LLDC, contributed to design panels at the NLA, Epping, and Hackney, and leads the Javeriana University Alumni Network in the UK.

Kandya Obezo -Casseres ( Moderator)

Kandya Obezo Casseres is a PhD candidate in Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a former Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs of Colombia. Her professional experience spans public policy, sustainable development, environmental governance, and international cooperation.

She previously served at Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development as Deputy Director for Environmental Education and Public Participation, where she led initiatives on environmental education, social dialogue, and engagement with Indigenous, Afro-descendant, women’s, and youth communities. She later held senior positions in government and multilateral affairs.

As Vice Minister, she represented Colombia in a range of international processes related to sustainable development, climate action, and multilateral cooperation, including Colombia’s participation in COP16. Her current research explores the role of local agency and community participation in shaping public policy and development processes.