On May 20, Didier Houssin, President of IFPEN, and Christine Travers, Director of IFP School, welcomed Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), for the traditional patronage ceremony, in effect for over 20 years. Like his predecessors, who were also leaders in the world of energy and transport, he gave a lecture to the 300 students of the 2018-2019 class, of which he is the honorary sponsor.
Before being appointed Executive Director of the IEA in 2015, Fatih Birol has already spent more than 20 years at the agency, where he was Chief Economist responsible for the flagship publication, World Energy Outlook. He is also the founder and president of the IEA Energy Business Council, one of the most active energy industry advisory groups in the world.
During this official ceremony, Fatih Birol presented an overview of the current and future energy context. He spoke of the need for an energy mix to meet global demand as part of the ongoing transition: renewable energies, energy efficiency, innovative technologies, including CO2 capture and storage, hydrogen... This was followed by a question and answer session with students.