Kausar Khan supports city-scale energy transitions at C40 Cities, where she focuses on renewable energy initiatives in South African cities as a Knowledge Manager. Kausar is a seasoned renewable energy consultant with over a decade of experience developing and implementing high-profile renewable energy strategies across the public and private sectors. With a background in Mechanical Engineering and certifications in Project Management (PMP®) and Sustainable Energy (SCENE), Kausar is dedicated to advancing net-zero pathways and supporting clean energy transitions that benefit both people and the planet.
Kausar has successfully led multi-disciplinary teams in delivering ambitious climate action plans for municipalities and provided expertise on utility-scale solar, wind, and green hydrogen projects. She particularly focuses on addressing the unique financing and implementation challenges faced by cities and businesses. She has over 10 years of experience at Arup, a global engineering consulting firm. Among her most fulfilling achievements is the development of eThekwini Municipality’s Regional Hydrogen Strategy, which was launched at the 2023 eThekwini Energy Transformation Summit and subsequently adopted by the Council.
Currently serving on the Hydrogen Africa Board, Kausar has also contributed her expertise as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Innovation Advisory Committee. A recent 2024 Mandela Washington Fellow, she completed a Leadership in Public Management program at Boise State University in the USA, representing South Africa among peers from 20 African countries.
Passionate about community engagement, mentorship, and promoting diversity in the engineering sector, Kausar co-created and piloted an early career support program for women of colour. She is also instrumental in developing DigiYard, a circular economy platform that diverts construction materials from landfills for second-life use, that has been recognized as a leading African solution, notably featured at the World Circular Economy Forum in Rwanda in 2022.