IEA head Birol named among top influencers

Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has been named one of the most influential 100 persons of 2021 by Time, a political magazine based in New York City, United States.

Birol, 63, who has been the executive director of the agency since 2015, is the only Turkish person that made it to Time's annual influencer list this year.

"It is very important to represent the energy sector, which is among the most vital sectors for the world economy," he said. "Representing Turkey is also a point of pride for me."

John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate and former U.S. Secretary of State, described Birol as "a trusted counselor to world leaders," in a short piece on Time's website.

"He's an objective authority on what it will take to slash carbon emissions and save our planet. His data-driven approach is like Moneyball for the clean-energy revolution," Kerry said.

"Birol has transformed the International Energy Agency from a body mostly monitoring oil markets into a leading adviser to the world's major economies across the full suite of energy technologies," he added.

Building on over 10 years of analysis, this year, the IEA released its first comprehensive road map for reaching global net-zero emissions by 2050 and minimizing the risk of catastrophic climate impacts, according to Kerry's remarks.

After taking office, Birol led the IEA in its first comprehensive modernization program since its creation in 1974. These efforts focused on "opening the doors" of the IEA to major emerging economies, including Brazil, China, India and South Africa, broadening the IEA's energy security mandate beyond oil to also cover electricity, natural gas, renewables and the...