Natasha K. Vidangos, PhD
Environmental Defense Fund
Friday, November 11, 2022
9:30 AM
102 Benedum Hall
Innovation, Policy, and Climate Change: The Race for the Next Generation of Effective, Affordable, and Equitable Climate Solutions
Abstract: This week is the 27th UN Climate Conference, COP27, and world leaders, ranging from heads of government to international corporations and public interest groups are convening to discuss efforts to reduce climate emissions. While there are many clear actions the world can take to mitigate climate emissions today, such as deploying greater renewable energy, enhancing energy efficiency, and reducing waste, there is an increasing consensus that our existing toolkit needs to be amplified. We will also require new classes of solutions, especially in "hard to abate" sectors such as industrial decarbonization, long-distance transportation, and grid-scale storage. This seminar will explore the policy environment that supports climate innovation, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the multifaceted efforts to accelerate the conversion of today's great science into the next generation of climate solutions.
BIO: Dr. Vidangos is the Senior Director for Climate Innovation and Technology at the Environmental Defense Fund. In this role, she seeks to maximize the power of applying new and improved climate solutions to achieve a rapid, just, and effective transition to a zero-carbon future.
Prior to joining EDF, Dr. Vidangos was the Vice President for Research and Analysis at the Alliance to Save Energy, where she pursued new avenues for advocacy in energy optimization, including the leadership of two public-private coalitions, the 50x50 Transportation Initiative and the Active Efficiency Collaborative. She also led the development of the 2019 Energy Efficiency Impact Report.
Dr. Vidangos was also a foundational member of the Energy Resources Bureau at the U.S. Department of State, where she served in several roles, including as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Policy Fellow; Energy Officer for the Western Hemisphere; Senior Energy Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Senior Global Power Sector Advisor. She also detailed to the Department of Energy Office for Energy Policy and Systems Analysis (EPSA), where she led the development of the Quadrennial Energy Review Chapter on North American electricity interconnection.
She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, where, as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, she elucidated three-dimensional structures of transcription activator proteins. In 2004-5, she completed a Fulbright fellowship in biochemical research at the Instituto Leloir in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Yale University.
Friday, November 11 at 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Benedum Hall, 102
3700 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Natasha K. Vidangos, PhD
Environmental Defense Fund
Friday, November 11, 2022
9:30 AM
102 Benedum Hall
Innovation, Policy, and Climate Change: The Race for the Next Generation of Effective, Affordable, and Equitable Climate Solutions
Abstract: This week is the 27th UN Climate Conference, COP27, and world leaders, ranging from heads of government to international corporations and public interest groups are convening to discuss efforts to reduce climate emissions. While there are many clear actions the world can take to mitigate climate emissions today, such as deploying greater renewable energy, enhancing energy efficiency, and reducing waste, there is an increasing consensus that our existing toolkit needs to be amplified. We will also require new classes of solutions, especially in "hard to abate" sectors such as industrial decarbonization, long-distance transportation, and grid-scale storage. This seminar will explore the policy environment that supports climate innovation, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the multifaceted efforts to accelerate the conversion of today's great science into the next generation of climate solutions.
BIO: Dr. Vidangos is the Senior Director for Climate Innovation and Technology at the Environmental Defense Fund. In this role, she seeks to maximize the power of applying new and improved climate solutions to achieve a rapid, just, and effective transition to a zero-carbon future.
Prior to joining EDF, Dr. Vidangos was the Vice President for Research and Analysis at the Alliance to Save Energy, where she pursued new avenues for advocacy in energy optimization, including the leadership of two public-private coalitions, the 50x50 Transportation Initiative and the Active Efficiency Collaborative. She also led the development of the 2019 Energy Efficiency Impact Report.
Dr. Vidangos was also a foundational member of the Energy Resources Bureau at the U.S. Department of State, where she served in several roles, including as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Policy Fellow; Energy Officer for the Western Hemisphere; Senior Energy Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Senior Global Power Sector Advisor. She also detailed to the Department of Energy Office for Energy Policy and Systems Analysis (EPSA), where she led the development of the Quadrennial Energy Review Chapter on North American electricity interconnection.
She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, where, as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, she elucidated three-dimensional structures of transcription activator proteins. In 2004-5, she completed a Fulbright fellowship in biochemical research at the Instituto Leloir in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Yale University.
Friday, November 11 at 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Benedum Hall, 102
3700 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261