David Sandalow

David Sandalow is the Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and co-Director of the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He launched and directs the Center’s U.S.-China Program and has written, most recently, on topics including energy diplomacy and energy finance.

Mr. Sandalow has served in senior positions at the White House, State Department and U.S. Department of Energy. He came to Columbia from the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served as Under Secretary of Energy (acting) and Assistant Secretary for Policy & International Affairs. Prior to serving at DOE, Mr. Sandalow was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, as well as Energy & Climate Change Working Group Chair at the Clinton Global Initiative. He has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment & Science and a Senior Director on the National Security Council staff.

Mr. Sandalow writes and speaks widely on energy and climate policy. His recent works include The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy (2017, co-author), Financing Solar and Wind Power: Lessons from Oil and Gas (2017, co-author), Solar Together (2016), CO2 Utilization Roadmap (2016, project chair), The History and Future of the Clean Energy Ministerial (2016) and Meeting China’s Shale Gas Goals (2014, lead author). Other works include Plug-In Electric Vehicles: What Role for Washington? (Brookings Press, 2009) (editor), U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate Change (Brookings, 2009) (co-author) and Freedom from Oil (McGraw-Hill, 2008). Mr. Sandalow has appeared on CNN, NPR, NBC, BBC, CCTV and many other broadcast outlets.

Mr. Sandalow serves on the Board of Directors of ReNew Power, India’s leading renewable energy developer, and as an advisor to a number of companies. Mr. Sandalow is a member of the Steering Committee of the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum and chairs the ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project. He is a member of the Selection Committee of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, University of Michigan Energy Institute’s Advisory Board, the Electric Drive Transport Association’s “Hall of Fame” and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Yale College.

Education

• BA in Philosophy, Yale College
• JD, University of Michigan Law School