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Draft:Scott Foster (engineer)

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  • Comment: Potentially notable (although I'm not sure) but it needs to focus on independent sources and be restricted to those that actually mention Foster by name to avoid original research issues. (t · c) buidhe 18:22, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
  • Comment: The title of this draft either has been disambiguated or will need to be disambiguated for acceptance.
    If this draft is accepted, an entry will need to be added to the disambiguation page for the primary name.
    The disambiguation page for the primary name is Scott Foster (disambiguation). Robert McClenon (talk) 23:47, 4 April 2022 (UTC)


Scott Foster
Director
Sustainable Energy Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
In office
1 February 2011 – 1 June 2022
LeaderJán Kubiš (2008-2012)
Sven Alkalaj (2012-2014)
Michael Møller (2014)
Christian Friis Bach (2014-2017)
Oľga Algayerová (2017-2023)
Personal details
Born (1957-05-05) 5 May 1957 (age 67)
Washington DC, United States
Alma materDartmouth College
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley

Scott Foster is executive chair of the energy programme at Enniscorthy International Forum[1], Senior Fellow at Boston University’s Institute for Global Sustainability, and a former Director of Sustainable Energy at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) from 2011 to 2022.

With over 30 years' experience, he has led global efforts to enhance energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and increase carbon capture technologies. Foster has contributed to international collaboration on sustainable building standards and urban energy efficiency. He advocates integrating renewable energy with traditional infrastructure and pioneered the "Energy as a Service" model for a more sustainable energy system.

Early life and education

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Foster was born in Washington DC, United States of America. He grew up in Manila (Philippines) and Rotterdam (Netherlands) as part of a United States Foreign Service family.[2][3] His family retired to Asheville, North Carolina in 1970.

He was a Classics and Biology double major at Dartmouth College. After working in Washington, DC for an energy and environmental analysis consulting firm providing analyses for the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy, he then completed a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering at Stanford University. Upon completing his civil engineering degree he joined Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) company. He was sponsored by the company to earn an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley.

Career

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Foster has over 30 years of experience as a management consultant, utility executive, and energy market analyst.[4]

International Energy Agency

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Foster left PG&E in 1988 to join the International Energy Agency as a Programme Officer and Senior Electricity Expert. At the time, the agency's activities in electricity led the G7 to request support for efforts to close nuclear power plants of Soviet design that were considered unsafe.[5] He left the IEA in 1994 to take on various roles in energy at Cambridge Energy Research Associates and AES Corporation before founding his own consulting firm, Nomad Energy Consulting.[6][7][8]

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

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Foster served as the Director of Sustainable Energy at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe from February 2011 through May 2022. The programme manages a broad portfolio of energy-related activities for nearly one-billion people across 56 member states.[9][10] Throughout his tenure, he oversaw several key initiatives aimed at advancing sustainable energy practices globally.[11][12] His work included efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions, including a focus on carbon capture and storage and cleaner electricity systems. Foster also led activities on methane emissions and United Nations Framework Classification for Resources, the first widely accepted natural resource management system for classifying, managing, and reporting energy, mineral, and raw material resources in the world.[13]

Furthermore, Foster's work emphasized the importance of energy efficiency in buildings and urban environments, creating United Nations guidelines for energy efficiency standards in buildings in collaboration with the international Passive House community.[14][15][16][17] and launching a high performance buildings initiative with networks of international centres of excellence, academia, and industry. This work led to Foster being awarded the Baku Nobel Heritage Fund's Nobel Prize on behalf of the UNECE Sustainable Energy Division for unique contributions to sustainable energy dialogues.[18]

Boston University

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In 2022, Foster became one Boston University's Institute for Global Sustainability senior fellows. His research focused on good practice from just transition for coal communities, and advancing technologies to enhance the contribution from renewable energy sources.[19][20]

In addition to this role, Foster is executive chair of the energy programme of the Enniscorthy International Forum and managing director of Nomad Energy Consulting.[21]

Work

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Energy as a Service

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Energy as a Service is a concept promoted by Foster that promises a transformative transition on how energy is produced, purchased, consumed and managed.[22] The primary aim of this concept is to shift energy from a traditional commodity industry to a subscription-type business model. By subscribing to energy services, consumers can benefit from a more predictable and potentially lower-cost energy supply. The energy service provider is motivated to increase margins by improving energy efficiency and enhancing energy services by deploying knowledge of technology, a low cost of capital, relations with contracters and a profit motive. This innovative business model enables to make energy cheaper, more resilient and more environmentally sustainable. A crucial feature of such business model is placing energy efficiency and demand flexibility at the heart of the service proposition and thereby enable the integration of renewable sources of energy. That integration plus improvements in energy efficiency align with global efforts to combat climate change and promote environmental sustainability.[23][24][25][26] The concept has gone on to be a pivotal aspect of academic literature on energy storage as a service as well as the sustainability of energy security and renewable technology.[27]

'All of the Above' approach to Climate Change and Sustainability

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Foster’s research focuses on developing cost-effective and culturally, socially responsive strategies for transitioning to sustainable energy. The energy services that are currently met by fossil energy will still be required in the future, but energy demand must be tempered, global quality of life aspirations delivered, and energy supply decarbonized. All energy types and all actors have a role to play in the transition.[28]

Foster has been outspoken in his skepticism about how renewable energy is supported, a position that was often at-odds with wider UN proposals. In an op-ed in the UN Chronicle, Foster wrote:

Renewables cannot be used uniformly across the energy system to replace the use of fossil fuels today, mostly because of the variance in the ability of different energy subsectors to switch from fossil fuels to renewables. For example, in some industrial applications such as cement and steel production, emissions come from both the energy use and the production process.  Alternative technologies that can replace current production techniques are not yet available at the scale needed, so it is expected that these techniques will persist in the short to medium term.  In these cases, carbon capture and storage can provide a solution consistent with current demands and give the time needed to develop future alternative approaches.[29]

Nonetheless, he has also argued that clean energy development needs to be “aggressive” and happen “fast” in order to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.[30] In recent keynote speeches to leaders, he has called on nations to stop finger pointing at the fossil fuel industry, and instead support efforts to implement sustainable energy and water resource management.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Enniscorthy Interational Forum (June 1, 2022). "Enniscorthy International Forum". Enniscorthy International Forum.
  2. ^ "Seaborn Foster Obituary". The Washington Post. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Eleanor Foster Obituary". Asheville Citizen Times. May 14, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Information Service, United Nations Economic Commisison for Europe (February 4, 2011). "UNECE Weekly, Issue #409" (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Nuclear safety and electric power in Armenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Strategies and financing. Summary report (1st ed.). Washington: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Energy Agency, World Bank. 1993.
  6. ^ Dlouhy, Alexa (2019). "Student Report: A conversation with Scott Foster '79, head of sustainable energy, UNECE". Dartmouth University. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "Scott Foster, Speaker at the Vienna Energy Forum". Vienna Energy Forum. 2018. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  8. ^ Rizzolio, Diana (April 28, 2022). "Scott Foster, Expert, Geneva Enrionment Network". www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Kanisheva, Veronika (March 3, 2023). "Speakers at the International Investment Forum "Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan", 2022". Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  10. ^ Pierre, Catherine (January 1, 2022). "Sustainable Energy Subprogramme of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe". United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Fosse, Marit (2019). "It's All About Energy! Interview with Scott Foster, Director, Sustainable Energy Division at UNECE". DIVA International Diplomat (3). Graficim Media: 22–25.
  12. ^ Mendicino, Anthony (January 31, 2022). "Inspire Speakers Series". Inspire Speaker Series. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Feder, Judy (2019-08-01). "Transforming Natural Resource Management for a Sustainable Planet". Journal of Petroleum Technology. 71 (8): 76–78. doi:10.2118/0819-0076-JPT. ISSN 0149-2136.
  14. ^ Semke, Zachary (September 1, 2019). "Interview with Scott Foster - Global Push to Decarbonize Buildings". Passive House Accelerator. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Promoting Energy Efficiency Standards and Technologies to Enhance Energy Efficiency in Buildings". United Nations. July 23, 2020. doi:10.18356/9a8098e2-en. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  16. ^ CoP 26 - Climate Change & The Built Environment - United Nations Centre of Excellence with Scott Foster and Jenna Cramer, 2021-09-17, retrieved 2024-09-21
  17. ^ Bonus Episode - United Nations Centres of Excellence for High Performance Buildings with Scott Foster & Jenna Crammer, 2022-09-21, retrieved 2024-09-21
  18. ^ "Baku Nobel Heritage Fund (BNHF) - Annual Meeting". Baku Nobel Heritage Fund (BNHF). October 20, 2016. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  19. ^ Jermain, David O.; Ren, Z. Justin; Foster, Scott B.; Pilcher, Raymond C.; Berardi, Eugene J. (2022-12-01). "Coal in the 21st century: Integrating policy with practice for just transitions". The Electricity Journal. 35 (10): 107220. Bibcode:2022ElecJ..3507220J. doi:10.1016/j.tej.2022.107220. ISSN 1040-6190.
  20. ^ Blanding, Michael (March 1, 2018). "Scott Foster, MBA 86, Director, Sustainable Energy, UN Economic Commission for Europe". Berkeley Haas. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  21. ^ Murphy, Barbara (September 21, 2020). "Enniscorthy Forum". Enniscorthy International Forum. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  22. ^ "How can rethinking energy transform lives?". United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 17 February 2016. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  23. ^ Foster, Scott (March 9, 2016). "iEnergy: Reinventing Energy Systems for the Future". YouTube - Tedx Talks. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  24. ^ Sadanam, Saketh (June 16, 2024). "Shaping Tomorrow's Energy: Insights on Energy as a Service (EaaS) - Interview with Scott Foster". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  25. ^ Habrich-Böcker, Christiane; Kirchner, Beate Charlotte; Weißenberg, Peter (2014), "Die weltweiten Fracking-Gebiete", Fracking – Die neue Produktionsgeografie, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, pp. 17–23, doi:10.1007/978-3-658-02178-8_2, ISBN 978-3-658-02177-1, retrieved 2024-09-21
  26. ^ United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (September 29, 2020). Deep Transformation of the Energy System. Retrieved September 21, 2024 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ Darke, Walker; Karatayev, Marat; Lisiakiewicz, Rafał (August 21, 2022). "Sustainable energy security for Central Asia: Exploring the role of China and the United Nations". Energy Reports. 8: 10741–10750. Bibcode:2022EnRep...810741D. doi:10.1016/j.egyr.2022.08.213. ISSN 2352-4847.
  28. ^ Scott Foster : Energy in public institutions, 2022-03-07, retrieved 2024-09-21
  29. ^ Foster, Scott (December 1, 2015). "The Role of Fossil Fuels in a Sustainable Energy System". United Nations. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  30. ^ World Liquid Gas Association (February 21, 2021). LPG Talks ft. Scott Foster, UNECE. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2024 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ Foster, Scott (April 9, 2017). "Sustainable energy "underpins" global development agenda". UN News. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
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