Yordi

Beatriz Yordi Aguirre

Director, European Commission, DG Clima

Beatriz Yordi is Director in DG Climate Action at the European Commission, responsible for the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and international cooperation on carbon markets since 2017. The ETS is the largest CO2 commodity market in the world and a pillar of the EUs decarbonisation strategy enshrined in the Green Deal. She has been a pillar for the design, conception and implementation of the Fit for 55 European Commission package. She is also responsible for Clean Mobility in DG Climate Action across sectors and transport modes (i.e. on roads, aviation, maritime and rail), including files such as the CO2 standards for cars and vans and the heavy duty vehicles dossier. As part of the Fit-for-55 package, she conceived and negotiated the reform of EU carbon markets, by significantly increasing ambition and by pushing for the inclusion of the maritime sectors emission under the EU ETS, as well as advocating for the creation of a new Emissions Trading System which covers emissions from road transport and buildings (ETS II). She also spearheaded negotiations on the creation of a Social Climate Fund which is key to the implementation of a fair, green and just transition.

Having joined the European Commission in 1994, she is a pioneer in the creation and negotiation of European renewable energy policies, having lead the way by working on the first Renewable Energy Directive as well as designing a funding instrument for the support of Eco-innovation and Green businesses throughout her stay in different Commission Departments (e.g. DG Energy, DG Environment and EASME). She has also been leading CLIMA negotiations in the EU-UK Trade agreement.

Before her time at the Commission, she specialised in Fundamental Physics at the University of Santiago de Compostela before starting her career at the CIEMAT Research Centre in Spain (Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research). This experience was followed by a position as young Chief Engineer in a joint venture between Endesa-RWE and Naturgy, which aimed to design and construct the first European solar PV plant.

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