International Perspectives on the Role of Nuclear Energy in a Net-Zero Future

Lee is CATF’s Senior Director in Europe and the Middle East, leading CATF’s climate strategy to advance a broad portfolio of solutions in both regions. She is also responsible for advancing CATF’s efforts on the global climate policy stage through CATF’s presence at COP28 in the UAE and at COP27 in Egypt. Having worked on climate and clean energy and lived in the U.S. and Europe, Lee is an expert on transatlantic partnerships and international affairs and is passionate about advancing and strengthening the transatlantic relationship to achieve climate goals.

Before stepping into her current role, Lee was CATF’s Global Director for carbon capture, leading the team’s expansion in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, and helping launch CATF’s overall European efforts. Under her leadership, the carbon capture team played an integral role in advancing cutting-edge carbon management policies globally. The team helped secure $12 billion in funding for carbon capture, removal, and storage in the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as make improvements to the 45Q tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act. The team also put forward the vision for a European Strategy for Carbon Capture and Storage.

Lee came to CATF from the Global CCS Institute, where she served as a Senior Advisor leading the Institute’s advocacy efforts in North America and was part of a global team focused on advocacy and policy. Previously, Lee worked for the Vermont Energy Investment Cooperation, and at Eni USA in their Washington DC International Relations Office, focusing on international affairs and government relations. She also worked for the EU Delegation to the U.S. as a trainee on transportation, energy, and environmental policy issues. Before working in the energy field, Lee was a journalist reporting for multiple outlets reporting from Germany, Italy, Tanzania and Hong Kong.

She has a Master of Arts in International Affairs & Economics with majors in Energy, Resources & Environment and Political Economy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). A German citizen, she speaks German, French, and Italian. She is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center.

Karl is a Senior Fellow in WRI’s Climate Program. He leads analysis and modeling of the clean energy transition, climate mitigation, electricity market design, and the social cost of carbon. He served as an expert reviewer for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. He led the 2016 Risky Business study of clean energy scenarios for the U.S., and lectures widely on clean energy and net-zero emission pathways. He has worked for three decades in the fields of climate change, energy, and environment in a career that has spanned legislative and executive branches, research institutions, NGOs, and consulting. He has led climate policy analysis and modeling projects for USAID, USEPA, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Western Climate Initiative, and the California Air Resources Board. Much of his work has focused on the energy and transportation sectors.

From 2007-2013, Karl was a Vice President at ICF International. He previously served as Deputy Director at the Center for Climate Strategies and as a Principal with Hagler Bailly. Karl lived in India all of 1999 as a Visiting Fellow at TERI. His experience also includes: serving President Clinton as Deputy Assistant Administrator in EPA’s Policy Office where he represented EPA in interagency climate policy development and at COP-1; and serving as the Chief Economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he worked on a diverse set of issues including electricity restructuring, CAFE standards, alternative fuels, western water policy, nuclear power, and energy security.

Karl holds an MPP and PhD in Public Policy from University of California, Berkeley, and received his BA in Economics from Cornell University.

Staffan is the CEO of Quantified Carbon ltd, an international consultancy firm dedicated to supporting decarbonization of energy systems and industrial processes, and a managing director at Deepsense, a technology due diligence provider to deep tech investors. He holds a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California Berkeley and is the co-author of “A Bright Future”, a book on successful (and failed) strategies to decarbonize energy, which was the inspiration for recently released Oliver Stone-movie "Nuclear Now”.

Elina, Pillsbury’s Global Energy Industry Leader, Hydrogen Practice co-leader and a leading member of the firm’s International Nuclear Projects team, focuses on global nuclear and hydrogen energy matters. Elina is a trusted advisor to nuclear owner-operators, reactor and equipment suppliers, investors, architect-engineering companies and technical consulting firms on complex nuclear and hydrogen transactional and regulatory matters. She frequently serves as lead outside counsel on new projects, equipment and fuel procurements, M&A transactions and joint ventures in the nuclear and hydrogen sectors. She has worked on transactions for more than 30 countries in North and South America, Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, Russia and the former CIS, Asia and Africa. Elina co-leads the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative, a coalition of 60+ partners advancing nuclear hydrogen as a critical climate solution. She is also advising a number of clients on the formation and implementation of hydrogen hubs.