WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm issued the following statement today following the U.S. Senate confirmation of Andrew Light by voice vote this morning to serve as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE):  

“I am so grateful to the Senate for confirming Andrew Light to serve as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Energy. Andrew has made enormous contributions to international climate and energy policy, including the landmark Paris Agreement, and he brings a passion and vigor to his work that will help our nation—and our world—seize the opportunity of clean energy while reminding the world that America is back. I am thrilled that he’s willing to serve the American people once again by joining the DOE team.” 

About Andrew Light 

Andrew Light, Ph.D., joined the Biden Administration in January as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Energy. Currently, Light is on a leave of absence from his position as University Professor of Philosophy, Public Policy, and Atmospheric Sciences at George Mason University. He previously served as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. In both positions, he worked at the intersection of U.S. and international climate and energy policy. From 2013-2016 he served as Senior Adviser and India Counselor to the U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change and on the staff of Secretary of State John Kerry’s Office of Policy Planning in the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he was Director of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group for Combating Climate Change, Chair of the U.S. Interagency Climate Working Group for negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and served on the senior strategy team for the United Nations (UN) climate negotiations, among other duties. In recognition of this work, Light shared a Superior Honor Award from the U.S. Department of State in July 2016 for “contributions to the U.S. effort that made the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, where the landmark Paris Agreement was concluded, a historic success.” 

Light has authored or co-authored dozens of policy reports on international energy and climate issues, and he has been a long-time champion of work demonstrating the benefits of international climate and energy cooperation on the employment opportunities, security, environmental quality, and health of the American people. As the grandson of two West Virginia coal miners, his understanding of the vital necessity for a strong U.S. energy economy is rooted in his childhood. He grew up in rural Georgia, where he formed an abiding appreciation of the environment, completing his undergraduate degree at Mercer University, graduate studies at the University of California at Riverside, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta. He lives with his family in Washington, D.C. 

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