Road to Net Zero: Navigating the Energy Transition in South Asia

Dasho Karma Tshering officially joined the Ministry of Economic Affairs on March 17, 2020. His Majesty the King appointed him as the Secretary of the Ministry on March 11, 2020.

Prior to his appointment, Dasho Karma Tshering served as the Eminent Member of the National Council of Bhutan since 2015. In the National Council, he served in the capacity of the Chair of Legislative, and Foreign Relations Committees. In addition to his membership in various Committees, he was one of the prominent members of the Chhoedey Lhentshog.

Thirty-eight years professional experience mainly in the energy and banking sector covering the areas of evaluation, development and financing arrangement for large scale power generation and infrastructure projects, facilitation of investors, senior level strategic management, policy formulation, public procurement, contract administration, tariff structuring, power sector regulatory affairs, etc. Mr. Mirza's tenure of over 9 years as MD PPIB has witnessed remarkable achievements in exploitation and use of Thar coal to generate cheap and indigenous power generation for base load requirements. His relentless efforts resulted in the commissioning of 31 multi-fuel based IPPs with a cumulative capacity of 13,985 megawatts. Additionally, during this period, country’s first ever HVDC transmission line was commissioned in September 2021 through private sector investment under CPEC with investment of $1.6 Billion. PPIB attracted an investment of over $15 Billion during his tenure and leadership. Due to the addition of a significant quantum of power generation capacity into the National Grid under the leadership of Mr. Mirza, the menace of load shedding was successfully curbed.

Mrs Syeda Rizwana Hasan is the Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Bangladesh. Prior to her appointment, she was a world renowned an environmental law champion who also holds the position of Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA). Over the years, she has used her legal expertise to fight against threats as varied as car pollution, unregulated mining, and deforestation.

Hasan has won a score of Bangladeshi and international prizes for her work, earning the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009, the Ramon Magsaysay Award (known as ‘the Nobel Peace Prize of Asia’) in 2012, and the US State Department’s International Women of Courage Award in 2022. In 2020, BELA also won the Tang Award for promoting environmental justice and the rule of law. Outside of her governance work, Hasan serves as a visiting faculty member of several universities and participates in a wide range of environmental organizations.

Guangzhe Chen is the Vice President for Infrastructure at the World Bank. He leads the Bank's global efforts to build sustainable infrastructure in developing and emerging economies and supports the World Bank Group’s strategic priorities such as the climate change action plan and the private capital mobilization and enabling efforts. He oversees the Bank's work across energy and transport sectors, urban development, as well as efforts to promote energy transition, low-carbon transportation, livable cities, disaster risk resilience, land management, and quality infrastructure services through public-private partnerships. Infrastructure represents around $110 billion of the Bank’s portfolio. An economist by training, he has over 30 years of international experience in the field of sustainable development, infrastructure finance and management.

Simon Stolp is the World Bank’s Practice Manager for South Asia, overseeing the Bank’s program, of close to $10 billion, in support of energy sector development across the South Asia region.  Prior to this Simon led the World Bank’s Energy & Extractives Program in India, which supports the acceleration of India’s energy transition, through significant investments in India’s renewable energy sector, and the turn-around of India’s financially stressed electricity distribution sector.     

Mr. Stolp joined the World Bank as its Country Manager in Iraq in 2007, at a time of intense political upheaval and post-conflict reconstruction.  He led all aspects of the Bank’s engagement with the Government of Iraq and its international partners.  He advised on critical decisions about Iraq’s future economic development and its national energy strategy, and led an emergency financing program of $1 billion.   He then led the World Bank’s regional energy program across the Middle East.  

Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Stolp represented the Australian Government in Iraq, where he was seconded to the US Department of Defense to lead the US Government’s $5.5 billion energy sector reconstruction program.

Mr. Stolp’s early career was with Hydro Tasmania, Australia’s largest renewable energy provider, where he led PPP development of renewable energy infrastructure throughout Australia and South-East Asia.  Mr. Stolp has also consulted to government, international development agencies, private developers, and financiers in the international energy sector.