• Email: aristeidis.tsakiris@un.org
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Bio

Aristeidis Tsakiris is a Mechanical Engineer with over ten years of experience driving energy efficiency initiatives globally. With an MSc in Sustainable Energy from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), he combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of policy and digital systems to support sustainable development in emerging and developing economies.

At the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC), he leads the development of Monitoring & Evaluation systems, digital dashboards, and web-based Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). His work enhances data-driven decision-making and supports the dissemination of best practices through webinars, podcasts, and e-learning platforms, while also contributing to project development, reporting, and stakeholder engagement.

Previously, Aristeidis held key roles at the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (C2E2), where he managed digital tools, coordinated over 100 webinars, and supported international workshops and publications. His early career in research and consultancy focused on energy-efficient buildings and transport, laying a strong foundation for his current impact in global energy transition efforts.

• Email: quentin.genard@e3g.org
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Bio

Quentin Genard joined E3G in 2014. He is a Policy Advisor in E3G’s Brussels office, leading work on EU energy and climate governance and on energy efficiency. Prior to joining E3G, Quentin worked in the political cabinet of the Vice-President of the Walloon government in charge of Energy and Sustainable development, as an advisor for European and International affairs. Quentin has a BA in Political Science from the University of Liege (Belgium), a MA in European policies and politics from the same university and a second MA in European political and administrative studies from the College of Europe (2013).

• Email: yamina.saheb@openexp.eu
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Prior to this position, Yamina was Policy and Scientific Officer at the Renewables and Energy Efficiency Unit at the Institute of Energy and Transport of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC). Before joining the JRC, she worked as senior buildings energy efficiency policy analyst at the IEA. Yamina holds a Ph.D in Energy Engineering, Master’s degrees on Landscape Architecture and Development Economics and an Engineering degree in Building technologies.

• Email: andreas.graf@agora-energiewende.de
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Andreas Graf is an Associate with Agora Energiewende, an independent think-tank headquartered in Berlin that develops scientifically based and politically feasible approaches for ensuring the success of the Energy Transition. Andreas is Brussels-based and supports the work of Agora Energiewende on EU Energy Policy, with a particular focus on Electricity Market Design and Renewable Energy Policy. From 2014 to early 2017 Andreas Graf was a Researcher at the environmental policy think-tank Ecologic Institute in Berlin supporting research projects and dialogue processes on German and EU energy policy. He has also worked as a Trainee in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy and as an International Parliamentary Fellow in the German Bundestag. Andreas Graf studied in Germany, the US, Japan, and India, and holds a Master in International Relations from the Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and the University of Potsdam.

• Email: Tom.HOWES@ec.europa.eu
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Tom Howes is an official of the energy department of the European Commission. He worked on renewable energy policy and energy market integration issues for some years. Now acting as head of Unit of the economic analysis and financial instruments unit, he manages economic modelling and data for energy policy development (including the 2030 package, energy prices & costs report, energy security study), works on developing financial instruments and state aid policy. He is an economist and has previously worked for the Australian and British governments and the IEA.

• Email: claude.turmes@europarl.europa.eu

Bio

Since 1999 a Member of the European Parliament, he held the position of Vice President of the Green Group of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2014. He is a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the coordinator on energy issues for the Green Group. Mr Turmes has been rapporteur of the Internal Electricity market in 2003, of the Directive on Renewable Energy Sources in 2008, and of the Energy Efficiency Directive in 2012. In 2017, he has been appointed rapporteur on the governance of the Energy Union, and shadow rapporteur on the revision of the RES Directive and the electricity market design. He published his book "Transition énergétique – une chance pour l'Europe" in February 2017 (éditions les petits matins, 480 pages).

• Email: Dries.Acke@europeanclimate.org
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Bio

Dries works as Head of the Energy Union Programme at the European Climate Foundation in Brussels. Dries carried forward the ECF’s flagship Roadmap 2050 project and now heads ECF’s activities on EU energy policy and the Energy Union. Previously, Dries worked at Apple, Inc. where he worked for five years in the EMEA Public Affairs department. He holds an M.A. in Contemporary History from the Catholic University of Brussels and Leuven, Belgium, and was awarded a post-graduate degree in International Relations from the Karl-Rüprecht University in Heidelberg, Germany. As a Belgian and native Dutch speaker, Dries also masters English and French and has a good level of German and Italian.