Fatih Birol

IEA leadership

While at the International Energy Agency, Birol has overseen several major changes in the approach of the organization.^[9] The organization, which historically had been heavily in favor of the fossil fuel industry, has expanded its scope to include sustainable energy and more members.^[9] Under his leadership, association agreements increased with major producers of energy, especially with countries outside the OECD in the Global South, such as India and China.^[9] This new membership model mean that IEA member and Association countries represent over 75% of global energy consumption.^[10]

Birol's approach to running the organization is both securing energy security while also facilitating the Energy transition. In 2021, IEA chief Fatih Birol called on policymakers to do more to accelerate the clean energy transition and reduce emissions, saying that "Clean-energy technologies are slowly but surely going to replace the existing energy industry."^[11][12] This transition significantly changed the direction of the organization, which previously had focused almost entirely on fossil fuel market analysis.^[13]

Birol's influence on markets and the world energy community mainly derives from the data-rich reports produced by the IEA which the New York Times described as a "relentless spigot".^[14] His speeches and networking with world leaders at international meetings such as the United Nations Climate Change Conferences have also been influential.^[14]

Birol's work at the IEA has led to a number of his international honours and recognitions (see table below). Birol was on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2021,^[3] has been named by Forbes magazine among the most influential people on the world's energy scene^[4] and recognised by the Financial Times in 2017 as Energy Personality of the Year.^[5]

Beyond IEA

Birol is part of the Africa Europe Foundation's (AEF) High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)^[15]