Chris Goodall
A cleantech entrepreneur and author who translates the complex path to net zero into actionable, evidence-based strategies.
Born 1955 (age 71)·English businessman, author and expert on new energy technologies·Birthday: December 29·Baby Boomers
Biography
Chris Goodall bridges the worlds of business, technology, and policy with a singular focus: accelerating the transition to clean energy. With an MBA from Harvard and a background in telecoms and consulting, he turned his analytical skills toward the climate crisis in the mid-2000s. He is best known for his meticulous, data-driven writing, first through his long-running Carbon Commentary newsletter and then in a series of influential books that dissect the economics and innovation behind renewables, electric transport, and green hydrogen. More than just an observer, Goodall has stood for Parliament multiple times for the Green Party, advocating for the policies he writes about. His work demystifies the energy transition, insisting that solutions are not only possible but are already being deployed at scale.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Chris was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chris Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Chris's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 60
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 70
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 71 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authors the widely-read Carbon Commentary newsletter, analyzing global advances in clean energy and climate technology.
- Has written multiple authoritative books on the energy transition, including *Ten Technologies to Save the Planet* and *The Switch*.
- Served as the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon in both 2010 and 2024.
- Led the telecommunications analysis firm, Teligen, applying strategic insight to the tech and energy sectors.
Did You Know?
He was a member of the UK Competition Commission (now the CMA) from 2008 to 2014.
Goodall is a former chair of the energy efficiency company, Dynamic Demand.
He studied at St John's College, Cambridge, before attending Harvard Business School.
His book *How to Live a Low-Carbon Life* won the 2007 Clarion Award for non-fiction.
“The future of energy is in electrifying everything and powering the grid from the sun and the wind.”
