seeing green

Greater Houston Partnership names former BP exec to lead energy transition

The former BP executive will lead Houston's role in the energy transition as the executive director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, a brand new position at the Greater Houston Partnership. Photo courtesy of GHP

Jane Stricker, a longtime Houston-based executive at oil and gas giant BP, has been tapped to lead the Greater Houston Partnership's new initiative designed to boost the Bayou City's profile in the shift toward low-carbon energy.

The partnership announced Stricker's hiring November 11. She'll join the organization effective January 1 as executive director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) and senior vice president of energy transition.

The Greater Houston Partnership unveiled HETI in June. As the partnership explained then, HETI "aims to drive sustainable and equitable economic growth in the Greater Houston region through a portfolio of technology, policy, and market initiatives that scale and export solutions for realizing a low-carbon energy world."

A report from the University of Houston's Gutierrez Energy Management Institute, UH Energy, and the Center for Houston's Future suggests the region is poised to become the "low-carbon energy capital."

In a business-as-usual scenario, Houston's energy-based economy stands to lose anywhere from 270,000 to 650,000 jobs if it fails to act in response to the low-carbon transition, according to a partnership report published in June. But if Houston takes "decisive action" to lead the energy transition, the region could gain as many as 560,000 jobs.

Among other things, HETI says it will:

  • Jumpstart carbon-reduction efforts, such as carbon capture, hydrogen production, and battery technology.
  • Attract companies operating in spaces like wind energy, solar power, and biofuels.
  • Bolster companies involved in projects like development of electric vehicles, decarbonization of oil and natural gas, and production of geothermal energy.

It now will be Stricker's responsibility to oversee the multifaceted initiative, bringing together industry, academic, and community partners to advance the Houston area's role in global energy transition.

"Jane is a thought leader in the energy industry who brings an extensive knowledge of the global energy ecosystem and the pathways to a low-carbon future," Bob Harvey, president and CEO of the partnership, says in a news release. "She understands the importance of collaboration across the ecosystem to get results, and I am confident the work she will facilitate will position Houston as the global hub of the energy transition, driving our region's long-term economic success."

Stricker has spent more than 20 years at BP, most recently as a senior relationship manager working with an array of organizations on issues such as carbon capture and energy decarbonization. While at BP, she spearheaded the National Petroleum Council's 2019 study on carbon capture, use, and sequestration.

"This is an exciting time for Houston and our energy ecosystem as we focus our efforts on leading the global energy transition," Stricker says. "The challenge of our lifetime is addressing this dual challenge of meeting increased global energy demand while confronting global climate change. Houston is known for solving problems that matter. I believe through innovation, collaboration, and focus, our region can lead the way and deliver solutions that change the world."

Aside from her previous role at BP, Stricker is a contributing faculty member for the University of Houston's Sustainable Energy Development Program, an advisory board member of the Energy Industries Council Connect Energy USA, and a graduate of the Center for Houston's 2020 Future Leadership Forum.

Stricker takes the helm of the energy initiative at a critical time.

The International Energy Agency predicts energy-related carbon emissions will soar by more than 1.65 billion tons this year, or nearly 5 percent, driven in large part by coal-fueled generation of electricity. That would be the second largest rise in annual carbon missions in history.

In a report released earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund noted that additional public investments in infrastructure to support the move to net-zero emissions will need to equal roughly 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade. That would easily amount to billions of dollars in global spending.

Taken together — the jump in carbon emissions and the need for more spending to combat them — the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate conservatively estimated in 2018 that the low-carbon economy could deliver at least $26 trillion in economic benefits through 2030. Lux Research forecasts the global market solely for carbon capture and recycling could reach $70 billion by 2030.

Looking farther down the road, the United Nations Development Programme says a heightened commitment to green energy — propelled largely by low-carbon strategies — could boost global GDP by $98 trillion by 2050.

"The investments needed for low-carbon infrastructure are substantial but manageable, and economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to speed up the low-carbon transition," the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate observes.

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Building Houston

 
 

Baylor College of Medicine's Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower is set to open in 2026. Rendering courtesy of BCM

Baylor College of Medicine has collected $100 million toward its $150 million fundraising goal for the college’s planned Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower.

The $100 million in gifts include:

  • A total of $30 million from The Cullen Foundation, The Cullen Trust for Health Care, and The Cullen Trust for Higher Education.
  • $12 million from the DeBakey Medical Foundation
  • $10 million from the Huffington Foundation
  • More than $45 million from members of Baylor’s Board of Trustees and other community donors, including the M.D. Anderson Foundation, the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation, and The Elkins Foundation.

“The Cullen Trust for Health Care is very honored to support this building along with The Cullen Foundation and The Cullen Trust for Higher Education,” Cullen Geiselman Muse, chair of The Cullen Trust for Health Care, says in a news release. “We cannot wait to see what new beginnings will come from inside the Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower.”

The Baylor campus is next to Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park, a 37-acre project. Rendering courtesy of BCM

The Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower is set to open in 2026. The 503,000-square-foot tower is the first phase of Baylor’s planned Health Sciences Park, an 800,000-square-foot project that will feature medical education and research adjacent to patient care at Baylor Medicine and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center on the McNair Campus.

The Baylor campus is next to Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park, a 37-acre project that will support healthcare, life sciences, and business ventures. Baylor is the anchor tenant in the first building being constructed at Helix Park.

“To really change the future of health, we need a space that facilitates the future,” says Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO, and executive dean of Baylor. “We need to have a great building to recruit great talent. Having a place where our clinical programs are located, where our data scientists are, next to a biotech development center, and having our medical students all integrated into that environment will allow them to be ready in the future for where healthcare is going.”

In the 1940s, Lillie and Roy Cullen and the M.D. Anderson Foundation were instrumental in establishing the Texas Medical Center, which is now the world’s largest medical complex.

“Baylor is the place it is today because of philanthropy,” Klotman says. “The Cullen family, the M.D. Anderson Foundation, and the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation have been some of Baylor’s most devoted champions, which has enabled Baylor to mold generations of exceptional health sciences professionals. It is fitting that history is repeating itself with support for this state-of-the-art education building.”

The Cullen Foundation donated $30 million to the project. Rendering courtesy of BCM

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