Wind industry visionary Ben Backwell to Chair Global Renewables Alliance

Abu Dhabi/London 12 January 2024: The Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) has announced Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), as its new Chair. Backwell will lead the Alliance for a two-year term, with a focus in 2025 on ensuring countries deliver strong renewable energy targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions, and COP 30 sets the world on a path to delivering on those ambitions. 

Ben Backwell, Chair of the Global Renewables Alliance, said: “Renewables are the only cost-effective and clean energy that can be scaled in time to meet growing demand and slash carbon emissions. The economic, social, and environmental benefits become more compelling by the day. Government action now is crucial to unlock the trillions of dollars waiting in growth opportunities. 

“To meet the tripling goal, governments must set ambitious, specific and actionable national clean energy plans and back them up with supporting regulation to reignite investor confidence.The private sector stands ready to work with policymakers to speed up implementation and deliver action to meet government ambition.”

“In the face of growing misinformation about renewables, it’s more important than ever to stick to our mission: accelerating the energy transition to deliver its full economic, social, and environmental benefits.”

It was Backwell’s vision for an alliance of the world’s renewable energy technologies that set the founding of the Global Renewables Alliance in motion. In 2023, at COP27, in Egypt, Backwell led the first meeting of what is now the Global Renewables Alliance steering committee, setting out the importance of coordination and collaboration between the clean and secure renewable technologies that will underpin the confident green world our industries are working towards. 

It was only a year later, at COP28 in Dubai, that the Global Renewables Alliance played a crucial role in delivering a landmark tripling renewables target. Working alongside the COP Presidency and the International Renewable Energy Agency, the GRA helped deliver the milestone call to triple renewables by 2030, agreed to by all countries in the UAE consensus.

Bruce Douglas, CEO of the GRA, welcomed Backwell’s appointment: “I am delighted that Ben Backwell, a world recognised changemaker, is taking the Chair position at this critical time, especially since he was one of the co-founders and key drivers behind the establishment of GRA. His vision and leadership will help accelerate the organisation, and the international renewables industry, through the next chapter of the energy transition.”

Bruce Douglas also thanked the GRA’s founding Chair: “I have huge appreciation for Julia Souder – her valuable support, incredible energy and inclusivity were instrumental in getting the tripling renewable energy goal agreed at COP28 and building GRA through the crucial first two years.”

Ben Backwell takes over the leadership at a pivotal time for the renewables sector. To deliver the tripling goal and achieve net zero it is vital the world sees unprecedented collaboration between the renewable sector, governments and global institutions. Scaling up supply chains, clearing permitting challenges and reforming finance are all crucial to the next era of renewable energy growth. The leadership of Ben Backwell, a renewable energy pioneer, will be an enormous asset for the Global Renewables Alliance as it works to deliver transformative action in these key areas. 

Outgoing Chair, Julia Souder, CEO of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council, has been pivotal to the Alliance’s early successes. She will continue to provide guidance as Vice-Chair and a member of the steering committee.

“The Global Renewables Alliance is a critical collaborative industry voice and we are thrilled to have Ben’s leadership for our next phase of impact,” said Julia Souder.