Mini Profile: Michael Liebreich
29 March 2011
Michael Liebreich, Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, is presenting this year’s Energy Futures Lab annual lecture, entitled Global Trends in Clean Energy Investment, on 29 March. He talks to Reporter about his experience as an Olympic skier and shares his vision for the future of green energy.
Can you describe what Bloomberg New Energy Finance does?
We help policy makers to make good decisions about green energy. In practice, this means providing them with information about industry, clean energy, carbon markets and upcoming areas of research in relevant fields.
What are you here at Imperial to talk about?
I’ll be talking about what role money and markets play in driving change to green energy because it is through the combination of both engineering and financial expertise that real changes can be made.
What is your personal view on the future of energy?
My view, which is also the reason I set up this business, is that we must inevitably change from a dumb, centralised, insecure, high-carbon economy to a more intelligent, decentralised, low-carbon economy. This is an unstoppable transformation because fossil fuel sources are inherently finite and because there are economic drivers pushing us, as a society, towards renewable forms of energy. There are opportunities to make, or lose, a lot of money in the process. I see my personal role in the business as describing what this clean energy future could look like and showing people some of the roads to get there.
You also used to be an Olympic skier – how did that happen?
I learnt to ski when I was just three years old and after that I quickly became pretty obsessive about skiing. In 1992, I was selected to represent the British Olympic team. I may have only finished in the middle of the rankings at the Albertville Olympics, but I was certainly the highest placed management consultant!
— Andrew Purcell, MSc Science Communication
Tags: Energy Futures Lab, Inside Story, Mini Profile
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