<p>Exciting developments are on the horizon for the <a href="/content/sps-nyu/about/academic-divisions-and-departments/center-for-global-affairs/energy-climate-justice-and-sustainability-lab.html" title="NYU SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab">NYU SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab</a> as we welcome Amy Myers Jaffe as its director. In addition to leading the Lab, Jaffe will be a research professor teaching <a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-global-affairs.html" title="MS in Global Affairs">MS in Global Affairs</a> courses examining global climate finance and energy and climate justice and policy.</p>
<p>We're thrilled to have Jaffe join the Center for Global Affairs to share her expertise and usher in a new chapter of excellence. We sat down with her to learn more about her background and her vision for the future of the Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab.</p>
A Place for Experiential Learning
<p>The mission of the NYU SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab is to train a new generation of leaders to develop workable and resilient sustainability solutions to address real-world opportunities and challenges at the local, national, and global scale in a manner that will advance the quality of life for all.</p>
<p>The Lab, housed at the Center for Global Affairs, will develop a curriculum and research that intersects across the full spectrum of NYU SPS professional degree programs, allowing students to pursue project-based practicums and research that serves the business, philanthropic, and public sector communities' needs and goals. The Lab aims to enhance traditional classroom learning and professional training by integrating classroom study with specialized, experiential learning in the field of choice.</p>
<p>We share her excitement about this bright new chapter for NYU SPS. "We are making a serious investment in all areas of global importance that touch and impact equity, economic justice, and leadership," said NYU SPS Dean Angie Kamath. "The appointment of Amy Myers Jaffe is the first in a series of efforts we are committed to for prioritizing our experiential education and applied research agenda."</p>
Helping to take the Lab to the next level, being a valuable resource for students, and an incubator for innovative thinking on addressing our global energy and climate issues will be major goals of mine in this new role.
More on Amy Myers Jaffe
<p>A leading expert on global energy policy, sustainability, and geopolitical risk, Jaffe is the author of several books, including her most recent publication, <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/energys-digital-future/9780231216753" target="_blank" title="Energy's Digital Future">Energy's Digital Future</a>, published in 2021 by Columbia University Press. A frequent media commentator, Jaffe is co-chair of the Women in Energy Initiative at Columbia University and a non-resident faculty affiliate at the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University. </p>
<p>From 2014 to 2017, Jaffe served as senior advisor on sustainability to the Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California Regents, where she helped design the sustainable investing framework for the UC's $140 billion in pension and endowment funds.</p>
<p>Jaffe regularly contributes to the popular podcast The Energy Gang and is a frequent media commentator on television and print media, including The New York Times, Financial Times of London, CNN International, and The Wall Street Journal. </p>
<p>A prolific author, Jaffe holds a career prize in energy economics from the US Association for Energy Economics and served as the organization's president in 2020. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where she was a senior fellow for energy and environment from 2017 to 2020. She serves on the boards of several academic journals, including Energy Journal, Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, and Energy Policy.</p>
<p>Jaffe has advised numerous organizations on climate risk strategy and scenario analysis, including Ceres, the investor advocacy network, and major Fortune 500 companies. She is a frequent contributor to the Aspen Institute Congressional program and the World Economic Forum, where she most recently served on the Global Future Council on Net Zero Transition.</p>
<p>In addition to Jaffe, Carolyn Kissane, the Lab's founder and faculty lead for strategy and planning, and Michelle D'Amico, the director for outreach, programs, and events, will help support the Lab's mission and objectives.</p>
<p>Interested in joining the Lab's experiential learning endeavors? Explore an<a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-global-affairs.html" title="MS in Global Affairs"> MS in Global Affairs</a>, where students can choose from eight degree concentrations, including <a href="/content/sps-nyu/about/academic-divisions-and-departments/center-for-global-affairs/energy-climate-justice-and-sustainability-lab.html" title="Environmental and Energy Policy">Environmental and Energy Policy</a>.</p>