Power & Climate/

Ashvin Dayal

Senior Vice PresidentPower & Climate, The Rockefeller Foundation

Ashvin Dayal leads The Rockefeller Foundation’s Power & Climate program, aimed at scaling up energy access and accelerating an inclusive energy transition in emerging markets.  Over more than a decade with the Foundation, Ashvin has overseen investments in urban climate change resilience and distributed renewable energy, including leading the establishment of local dedicated platforms to expand clean energy access such as Smart Power India and Smart Power Myanmar. Most recently, he led the creation of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, a multi-billion-dollar effort supported by major philanthropies, development investors and specialized energy organizations aimed at advancing transformational projects on distributed renewable electrification, grid-tied renewables, and fossil fuel transitions in 80+ energy-poor nations.

Ashvin joined the Foundation in 2008 as its Asia Managing Director, running its regional office in Bangkok. From there he led the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network, a nine-year partnership that equipped over 50 Asian cities to better cope with climate change impacts. He also oversaw the Foundation’s global Inclusive Economies portfolio, a policy and research effort to advance development and impact investments that drive more broadly shared prosperity.

Before joining the Foundation, he held a range of senior leadership roles over 15 years with Oxfam in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. This included leading its largest-ever relief and recovery effort in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami, and the creation of Oxfam India. In addition to his experience in Asia, he spent several years working in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, supporting post-conflict reconstruction and economic development programs in Bosnia, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and a master’s degree from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins.

Authored Content

  • Feb 16 2021
    Blog Post To Fight Poverty, We Must Raise Global Energy Ambitions The world will not end extreme poverty without ending energy poverty. Recovery from the global pandemic, boosting living standards, and building resilience to the looming impacts of climate change all require every person on our planet to have “affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy” — as the UN adopted in Sustainable Development Goal 7. The […] Ashvin Dayal, Todd Moss
  • Jan 26 2021
    RFBreakthrough Raising Energy Ambitions: The Modern Energy Minimum Energy is fundamental to modern living and economic prosperity. The current global crisis has exposed stark inequalities and raised the urgency of providing modern energy for everyone. Energy is a prerequisite to both recovery and to long-term development goals. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 calls for “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for […]
  • Aug 26 2020
    1:02:16
     The Nudge Forum Economic Development Through Equitable Access to Energy: SDG 7 Ashvin Dayal, Senior Vice President – Power & Climate at The Rockefeller Foundation, Padma Shri Reema Nanavaty, Director at SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association of India), and Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General TERI in conversation with Anjali Garg, Energy Specialist at the International Finance Corporation. This session was part of The/Nudge Forum (global edition) presented in […]
  • Jul 20 2020
    Blog Post For Real Resilience, Go Renewable Puerto Ricans are facing new and ongoing threats to health, safety, and the economy, including those that stem from the spread of Covid-19. The deadly global pandemic has brought widespread economic disruption, all while the medical system continues to recover from recent shocks. Many in Puerto Rico lack homes or safe places due to ongoing […] Ashvin Dayal, Javier Rúa Jovet, Roy Torbert
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