President Nasheed appointed Mike Mason as his advisor on energy, at a ceremony held at Oxford University on Friday evening.
Mason, a world expert on renewable energy, carbon finance and offsetting, is tasked with providing the President and his office with strategic advice on how the Maldives can switch from oil based power to renewable energy, in order to improve the country’s energy security and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Mason founded Climate Care, one of the world’s first carbon trading companies, in 1997. Since then the company has become a market leader in the development of projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world. In April 2008 Climate Care was acquired by JP Morgan – one of the world’s foremost investment banks.
Mike initially qualified as a mining engineer and worked mostly in Africa early in his career. He then gained an MBA and moved to business development in the oil industry. In 1994 Mike went to Oxford University to study Environmental Change and Management, where he also taught environmental economics for several years.
The post of Energy Advisor is an unpaid position. Mike will split his time working between Oxford and the Maldives.
