Green Wind Farm
Pace Energy and Climate Center

Akinola Afolarin

Akinola Afolarin
Institute for Energy Democracy Fellow

Akinola is a sustainability attorney with over a decade of practice experience. He provides a unique combination of expertise in different aspects of environmental law, energy law, climate change law, and corporate governance law, as well as up-to-date mastery of different environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks, regulations, rules, and disclosure practices which he employs in helping governmental bodies and corporations to develop, manage, and achieve their sustainability goals. With his unique skills, Akinola is deeply involved in various energy and climate change projects of the Center, providing legal and regulatory perspectives.

Prior to joining the Center, Akinola practiced law in top-tier law firms in Nigeria where he represented diverse corporations and governments on transactions bothering on environmental, energy, oil and gas, climate change, and sustainability issues. In this capacity, he was part of the team that represented South Atlantic Petroleum Ltd and other multinationals on oil prospecting license and mining issues, advised on governments on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement as well as developed sustainability strategies for multiple financial and investment corporations pursuant to the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP) of 2012. As a sustainability expert, he worked with ServiceNow as an ESG Projects Specialist. He has also served as Vice Chair of the Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources Law (SEER), IERL Committee of the American Bar Association.

As an expert, his work cuts across different areas of sustainability and the interconnection of renewable energy, climate change, and ESG, from the legal, regulatory, and policy dimensions. He has also researched and published works on climate change, hydrogen, ESG, and the danger of plastics to the environment and the marine ecosystem accessible at SSRN. His in-depth knowledge, research, and experience in these important areas of practice set him apart to provide best-in-class sustainability roadmaps and solutions, from both the complex legal angle and the ever-evolving trends in ESG frameworks toward the attainment of net-zero goals.

Akinola holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria, and a Barrister at Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School. He also obtained a Masters’s degree in Environmental Law with a specialization in Energy and Climate Change Law from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, New York.

Education:

  • Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria
  • Barrister at Law (BL), the Nigerian Law School
  • LLM, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University