Fatih Birol
Carnot Prize Recipient
2016
Fatih Birol is the recipient of the 2016 Carnot Prize and an economist who has been the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) since 2015. He is also the founder and chair of the IEA Energy Business Council, which provides a forum to enhance cooperation between government and industry. He previously served as the chief economist and director of Global Energy Economics at the IEA in Paris.
Birol has been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the most powerful influencers in the world’s energy scene. He is the chairman of the World Economic Forum’s (Davos) Energy Advisory Board and has served as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All. He is the recipient of numerous awards from government and industry for his contribution to energy and climate economics.
Prior to joining the IEA in 1995, Birol worked at the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna. A Turkish citizen, he was born in Ankara in 1958. He earned a B.Sc. degree in power engineering from the Technical University of Istanbul. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in energy economics from the Technical University of Vienna. In 2013, Birol was awarded a Doctorate of Science honoris causa by Imperial College London. He was made an honorary life member of Galatasaray Football Club in 2013.