Virginia Sonntag-O’Brien

Virginia Sonntag-O’Brien has more than 20 years’ international experience in the areas of energy and climate change at the interfaces between policy and finance, and public and private sectors, particularly in developing countries. With the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Paris, she served as Executive Secretary of REN21, the global Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, and Coordinator of UNEP’s Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative (SEFI). Earlier positions include Managing Director of BASE (Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy), focusing on increasing public and private investment in clean energy, and Director of the European Cities for Climate Protection Campaign of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. She has co-authored a number of leading publications on clean energy and climate finance.