Arnault Barichella is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the social sciences at the University of Paris-Saclay, where he has worked on several interdisciplinary research projects relating to the twin climate change and digital transitions. Arnault obtained his PhD in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris. His dissertation, under the supervision of Dr. Colin Hay, focused on a transatlantic comparative analysis about the role and importance of smart cities as key vectors of the dual climate and digital transitions. His dissertation was published as a monograph in 2023 by Palgrave Macmillan in their Energy, Climate and the Environment book series. Arnault's research interests focus on climate change and energy politics from a transatlantic perspective, with a concentration on smart cities as key vectors of the twin transitions, as well as cybersecurity and digital technologies in relation to the energy sector. Arnault's work on cybersecurity issues, and its connection with the energy sector, is linked to his experience as a researcher at two of Europe's leading think tanks: the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) and the Jacques Delors Institute. These publications led to a chapter on 'Cybersecurity and Data Protection in the Power Sector' in an edited volume on A Research Agenda for Energy Politics, published by Edward Elgar in 2023.
As a follow-up, Arnault was selected by Palgrave Macmillan to be Editor-in-Chief for the Palgrave Handbook of Cybersecurity, Technologies and Energy Transitions. Arnault's work on the dual transitions has led to a number of conferences, seminars and workshop presentations. Highlights include the European Commission's panel discussion on the EU Cybersecurity Package (2018) with the Cyber Task Force; the International Forum on Cybersecurity in Lille (2021); the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law at the University of Oslo in 2022; and the Enedis Forum on Innovation in March 2022, sharing a panel with the Cybersecurity Director at Enedis. Arnault is an affiliated Researcher at Sciences Po's Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics. He obtained his Masters' degree in European Affairs from Sciences Po Paris (2012-14), and received a BA degree in Modern History from Oxford University (2008-11). He was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University in 2018-19, affiliated with the Department of Government. Jurei Yada is a researcher and leading expert on the energy and climate transition. She is a Director at E3G, an independent climate think tank, where she has published widely on the investment needs required to deliver a decarbonised global economy.
A frequent speaker at European and international conferences, she contributes to policy and academic debates on sustainable finance, energy transition pathways, and climate politics. Previously, Jurei worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), advancing initiatives on sustainable finance and development data in collaboration with the United Nations, the World Bank, and other bilateral and multilateral institutions to design innovative approaches to scaling up financing for data. Before that, she served as Deputy Head of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation at the International Energy Agency (IEA) where she led joint activities with the G20, national governments, and private sector representatives on the energy transition. Jurei Yada holds degrees from the University of Oxford and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Her research focuses on public and private finance for the energy and climate transition, the political economy of decarbonisation, and the institutional and political processes shaping global climate action.