CEET Webinar Series: Insights and Innovations for a Sustainable Energy Future

In 2025, the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET) hosted a webinar series aimed at fostering dialogue and collaboration on key issues related to the global energy transition.

Under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General, the CEET is a global, high-level body of engineers and energy systems experts contributing to the UN’s mission of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. It is jointly chaired by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Through this series, the CEET:

• Fostered understanding and dialogue around the core challenges of the global energy transition.
• Built cohesion and solidarity among CEET experts and UN counterparts to identify and promote no-regret solutions.
• Highlighted leading voices across key sectors essential to decarbonization.
• Closed knowledge gaps to support the effective implementation of solutions for the energy transition.

Each webinar spotlighted a recent CEET Issue Brief and was co-hosted by UN agency partners. These webinars focused on energy ratings labels, retrofitting and repurposing coal power plants, clean cooking to advance the SDG Agenda, and the potential of waste-to-fuel pathways for sustainable shipping and fisheries.

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WEBINAR SESSIONS:

Energy Rating Labels and the Potential for Energy Savings

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Host Organizations: CEET, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)’s United 4 Efficiency (U4E)

Recording: Link

Implementing high energy efficiency performance standards and energy rating labels for appliances and other equipment can save massive amounts of electricity and increase energy access around the world. During this event, we explored how energy rating labels and minimum energy performance standards can reduce energy consumption while increasing energy efficiency and access. Our expert panelists also discussed the role of governments, regional centers, and market/financial mechanisms in promoting and accelerating the adoption of these labeling schemes. The discussion emphasized how harmonized standards can support the widespread uptake of energy-efficient products, particularly in the Global South.

Speakers:

• Patrick Blake, Programme Officer at United for Efficiency (U4E)
• Saikiran Kasamsetty, Energy Efficiency Specialist at United for Efficiency (U4E)
• Nida Rizwan Farid at Founder and Chief Engineer, NRF Engineering, and CEET member
• Readlay Makaliki, Lead Technical Expert at SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE)
• Dan Sullivan, Deputy Secretary at International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• (Moderator) Liz Nelson, CEET Program Manager at SDSN

Relevant CEET Resource: Energy Rating Labels and Potential for Energy Savings Across the Global South - Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Cooking for Climate: Solutions for Clean Cooking to Advance the SDG Agenda

Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025

Host Organizations: CEET, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Recording: Link

With over 2.3 billion people worldwide relying on inefficient stoves and polluting fuels, access to clean cooking remains a critical challenge for public health, climate, and sustainable development. This sixty-minute webinar explored how technologies like biogas can provide clean fuel for cooking, lighting, and organic fertilizers at household and community levels, particularly in rural areas. Expert panelists emphasized that advancing clean cooking requires more than technology but also a systems approach that integrates public health, gender equity, and climate considerations. The discussion also examined the role of institutions in supporting this work, including access to funding, policy frameworks, partnerships, and standardized carbon credit methodologies under Article 6.

Speakers:

• Semida Silveira, CEET Member and Systems Engineering Professor, Cornell University
• Luisa Valentim Barros, CEET Member and Head of Business Development, WayCarbon
• Riad Meddeb, Director of Sustainable Energy Hub, UNDP
• Elisa Derby, Senior Director of Climate, Science & Standards, CCA
• (Moderator) Liz Nelson, CEET Program Manager at SDSN

Relevant CEET Resource: Small-Scale Biogas for Clean Cooking—A Cost-Effective Technology to Tackle Climate Change and Achieve SDGs

Achieving a Managed Fossil Fuel Phaseout: Retrofitting and Repurposing Coal Power Plants in Asia

Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Host Organizations: CEET, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP)

Recording: Link

With the power sector responsible for over 42% of global CO₂ emissions, a managed phaseout of fossil fuels is essential to keeping the 1.5°C target within reach. This session explored why Asia, which is home to 78% of the world’s coal electricity production, presents a unique opportunity to lead a just and strategic transition away from coal. Expert panelists discussed the technical, policy, financial, and social dimensions of a managed phaseout, emphasizing how retrofitting and repurposing existing coal plants can help maintain energy reliability and economic resilience. The conversation highlighted that scaling renewable energy, coupled with innovative approaches to transition existing infrastructure, can enable Asia to become a model for the global shift from fossil fuels. Overall, the session underscored the urgency of accelerating a just, secure, and economically balanced energy transition that supports both development and decarbonization goals.

Speakers:

• Rana Ghoneim, Director, Division of Energy and Climate Action at UNIDO and CEET Co-Chair Proxy
• Emi Minghui Gui, Energy System - Lead at Monash Sustainable Development Institute and CEET Member
• Jaideep Sandhu, Chief Technology Officer, Renewables Global Business Unit at ENGIE SA and CEET Member
• Michael Williamson, Section Chief, Energy Division at UN ESCAP
• Nitin Arora, Project Manager at UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub (UGIH)
• (Moderator) Isaac Elizondo Garcia, Energy Programme Coordinator at UNIDO

Relevant CEET Resource: Managed Phaseout of Fossil Fuels Power Generation Facilities by Repurposing and Retrofitting for a Low-Carbon Future

Relevant CEET Resource: Navigating the Coal Transition in Asia: Challenges, Lessons, Pathways Key Messages

Leveraging the IMO Net Zero Framework and NDCs: Waste-to-Fuel Pathways for Sustainable Shipping and Fisheries

Date: Thursday, October 9, 2025

Host Organizations: CEET and the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Recording: Link

With international momentum building toward a net-zero future, decarbonizing the maritime sector has become an essential piece of that effort. Global shipping and fisheries, which are responsible for important sectors for trade, transportation, and economic growth, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. This event explored how the International Maritime Organization’s proposed Net Zero Framework (NZF) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) can accelerate decarbonization while ensuring a just and equitable transition for developing nations. Expert panelists discussed how the NZF’s combination of carbon pricing, emissions limits, and a transition fund can drive both climate action and economic opportunity. The conversation highlighted bio-LNG from urban organic waste as a viable low-emission fuel that can reduce methane emissions while improving waste management in cities near ports.

Speakers:

• Alessandro Sanches Pereira, Executive Director at Instituto 17 and CEET Member
• Atiq Zaman, Circular Economy Coordinator at UNCTAD and CEET Member
• Captain Sukhjit Singh AFNI, Technical Officer at IMO
• Claudia Contreras, Economic Affairs Officer, TED Branch at UNCTAD
• Regina Asariotis, Chief (a.i.) of Trade Logistics Branch and Policy and Legislation Section at UNCTAD
• Roberta Cenni, Head of Biofuels at Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and CEET Member
• Semida Silveira, Professor of Systems Engineering at Cornell University and CEET Member
• (Moderator) David Vivas Eugui, Chief of Section (a.i.), Ocean and Circular Economy Unit, Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development (TED) Branch at UNCTAD

Relevant CEET Resource: Unlocking Low-Emission Energy from Waste: A Sustainable Solution for Shipping and Fisheries in Emerging Economies

For more information about the CEET, please contact the CEET Secretariat at ceet@unsdsn.org.