Daniel Kammen

Senior Advisor, Energy and Innovation

U.S. Agency for International Development

Daniel M. Kammen is currently serving as the senior advisor for energy and innovation at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Kammen is the Founding Director, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, University of California. He has founded or is on the board of over 10 companies, and has served the State of California and US federal government in expert and advisory capacities. Since 1999 he has been a coordinating lead author for various reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He is Chair of the Energy and Resources Group and a professor in both the Department of Nuclear Engineering and in the Goldman School of Public Policy. He has served as the Science Envoy for the United States Department of State and has been the inaugural Chief Technical Specialist for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the World Bank.

How data-driven research partnerships deepen energy access across supply chains

June 16, 2022

by Sam Miles & Annelise Gill-Wiehl & Daniel Kammen

The energy transition risks further exacerbating human rights violations and environmental issues if the global community does not address material supply chains, guided by the most recent empirical evidence, social and climate justice. A truly just energy transition is possible through collaboration between private, public and academic stakeholders.
The Climate Tipping Point and Timeline ... Accelerated

April 15, 2008

by Daniel Kammen

Although experts are still debating at what point we're likely to see dramatic, rapid changes in global climate, the fact that the planet is able to absorb less carbon means the importance of concerted action is needed now.
- Energy & Climate
- Emissions Reduction
A Snapshot of the U.S. Wind Industry

December 10, 2007

by Daniel Kammen

Many people are unaware that wind power in many cases has become competitive with conventional power derived from fossil fuels. European countries such as Spain and Germany also are demonstrating how wind generation is leading to significant job growth within the clean energy sector.
Tools Needed to Make Good on Climate Protection Proposals

November 12, 2007

by Daniel Kammen

Just as $90 barrels of oil are making alternative technologies possible and desirable, awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC acknowledges the need for shared recognition of the implications of climate change. What we do with that evolving collective wisdom remains to be seen.
It's (Long Past) Time to Plan a U.S. National Energy Strategy

August 30, 2007

by Daniel Kammen

Through action or inaction, our collective climate future is strongly tied to what course the United States steers in the beginning of the 21st Century. And choosing the right course means replacing the vast infrastructure and economy developed to exploit fossil fuels.
From Carbon Markets to the (Conveniently) Forgotten Four Billion

August 5, 2007

by Daniel Kammen

The now-widespread acceptance of the reality of climate change, and the subsequent debates on how best to address it, ignore the fact that our current schemes of carbon-based currency markets unfairly place the burden of the climate fight on poor and developing nations.
What Solar Power Needs Now

July 10, 2007

by Daniel Kammen

The growth of solar power in the last 40 years has been remarkable in many ways, but it is still a small contributor to our total energy usage. There are several models in place around the world that offer great promise in spreading solar power far and wide -- and quickly.
- Renewable Energy
Transportation's Next Big Thing is Already Here

May 30, 2007

by Daniel Kammen

Today's movement to 'get the carbon out' of our fuel supply bears a resemblence to the push to 'get the lead out' in the 1970s. Now, as then, the transition to a low-carbon fuel supply can be remarkably easy -- and effective.
- Emissions Reduction
- Fleet Management
A Currency for the Wealth, and Environmental Debt, of Nations

April 28, 2007

by Daniel Kammen

In order to survive and thrive in the face of climate change, we need to establish and then put into practice -- as quickly as possible -- markets that utilize the value of carbon.