By Sam Pratt
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Kandeh Yumkella to its board of directors. “Kandeh Yumkella’s global leadership on sustainable energy issues will be a tremendous asset to the Institute as we continue to grow and deepen our existing work to address climate change and secure a clean energy transition worldwide” said RMI CEO Jules Kortenhorst.
Dr. Yumkella is currently a parliamentarian in Sierra Leone where he also ran as a presidential candidate during the last election. Until 2016 he served as the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for Sustainable Energy for All and CEO of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) Initiative, founded in 2011 under the auspices of then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. During Dr. Yumkella’s tenure, SEforAll raised the global profile of sustainable energy—and particularly energy access—as a key development enabler, leading to its inclusion as one of one of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015.
“It is an honor to be part of the Rocky Mountain Institute team, a group that has done so much to protect the global commons. I am excited to see how we can operationalize some of their ideas in fragile and vulnerable ecosystems in Africa,” said Dr. Yumkella.
Prior to and partially concurrent with his leadership of SEforAll, Dr. Yumkella served two terms as the director-general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Dr. Yumkella was also the minister for trade and industry of Sierra Leone from 1994-1995.
“Dr. Yumkella’s leadership globally, on behalf of developing economies and in Sierra Leone, has led to sustainable energy finally being recognized as a key enabler for all types of sustainable development, as well as being critical to addressing climate change,” said RMI Empowering Clean Economies Managing Director Richenda Van Leeuwen.
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) — an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 — transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous and secure low-carbon future. It engages businesses, communities, institutions and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of market-based solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; the San Francisco Bay Area; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.
