Former UK Energy Minister and Chair of the UK’s Net Zero Review, Chris Skidmore OBE, an internationally recognized authority on the energy transition, has joined Harvard University as a Salata Climate Action Fellow.

Skidmore served as a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2024 and served in the UK government between 2015-2020. As Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, he signed the UK’s net zero target into law in 2019, making the UK the first G7 country to adopt such a goal.

In 2022, Skidmore was commissioned by the UK government to lead the Independent Net Zero Review. The resulting “Mission Zero” report provided a comprehensive blueprint with 129 recommendations to implement net zero while enhancing economic opportunity and energy security. His work continues to be widely cited by governments, NGOs, and industry leaders around the world. Earlier this year, Skidmore was appointed to Chair the Working Group on Policy for the UK Transition Finance Council, launched by the Chancellor.

At Harvard, Skidmore will examine the energy, cooling, and grid-integration challenges posed by the rapidly growing digital economy, and work on how to deliver new narratives around the energy transition and sustainability. He will also collaborate with faculty on sector decarbonization roadmaps for transition finance that can be applied internationally.

“I am delighted to be joining the Salata Institute and Harvard at a time when we need to be helping to support and scale up recognizable solutions to decarbonization and emissions reduction. As I set out in the Net Zero Review, the energy transition is one of the greatest economic opportunities to deliver growth and investment, while improving infrastructure, regenerating communities and enhancing overall quality of life. The messages of hope and optimism, of empowering individuals and communities to have greater energy freedom remain key if we are to truly embed the energy transition and deliver clean power for the future,” Skidmore said.

“The Salata Institute is an exciting place to work on these policies, as a global hub of fresh thinking and new ideas on how to deliver emissions reductions at scale and with popular support”.

In January 2024, Skidmore resigned from Parliament over his objection to new oil and gas licenses that undermine progress toward net zero. His principled stance for climate ambition has earned him acclaim as one of the UK’s leading voices for environmental action across the political spectrum.

“Chris’s leadership and vision have shaped critical progress on net zero and climate policy, not just in the UK but internationally,” said Jim Stock, Director of the Salata Institute and Harvard’s Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability. “We are excited to welcome Chris to the Salata Institute, where his unique experience bridging government, academia, and industry will help drive ambitious solutions for the global climate challenge.”

Skidmore is also Chair of the Centre for Economic Transition Expertise (Cetex) at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics, on the faculty at the University of Bath, and holds advisory roles in decarbonization and the energy transition globally.