Mona Dajani, Global Co-Chair at Baker Botts, on De-Risking Climate Deals, Policy Certainty & the Energy Demands of AI | Season Nine, Episode Four

Sep 16, 2025

In this engaging conversation, Mona Dajani, Global Co-Chair at Baker Botts, blends her engineering, culinary, and legal expertise to navigate the complex world of clean energy finance. She tackles the rising energy demands driven by AI and hyperscalers, critiques the myth of energy abundance, and discusses the crucial need for policy certainty in climate deals. Mona also shares her insights on innovative financing models and the importance of trust and transparency in leadership within the industry.

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INSIGHT

RE+ Is Becoming AI And Data Center Driven

RE+ will attract new industries beyond traditional clean energy, notably AI and data centers driving demand and reshaping attendees.
Expect pivots, restructuring, and novel participants needing cross-disciplinary expertise.

ANECDOTE

From Chef To Energy Lawyer Via Enron

Mona recounted an unconventional path from engineering to culinary school to law, which led her into energy via Enron work.
That early Enron experience leveraged her technical background and built lifelong industry connections.

ADVICE

De-Risk Deals With Layered Legal Structures

Draft layered legal structures that align incentives across EPCs, lenders, tax equity and offtakers to protect clients.
Use credit enhancements and risk-sharing clauses to make contracts realistic and financeable.

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Welcome to Season Nine of Conversations in Cleantech!

This season, we’re going behind the scenes of transition infrastructure - speaking with the investors shaping how, where and why climate capital flows. From decarbonisation and energy security to technology maturity and policy gaps, we’re unpacking what it really takes to fund the systems that underpin a net-zero future.

In this episode, Jenny Gladman and Chloe England are joined by Mona Dajani, Global Co-Chair of Energy, Infrastructure and Hydrogen at Baker Botts, to explore the legal, structural and human dimensions of getting clean energy deals over the line.

From engineering and economics to law and fine dining, Mona’s career path is anything but conventional. But it’s this blend of deep technical insight and practical creativity that makes her one of the most sought-after voices in climate finance today. She’s built a reputation for combining sharp legal execution with relationship-building that goes far beyond the boardroom - a rare combination in a space where trust and agility are everything.

This conversation covers the shifting sands of clean energy investment - from the rise of AI and hyperscalers to the myth of energy abundance. Mona shares why policy volatility demands layered risk management, how new financing models are emerging around data centre demand, and what developers must do to build investor confidence in an uncertain landscape.

It’s also a conversation about leadership - the power of transparency, the importance of track record, and why sometimes the smartest move is knowing when to pivot.

01:19 - Introduction to Mona
02:10 - How have you been preparing for RE+ next week?
03:20 - What are your industry predictions for this year’s RE+?
04:30 - How did you get into the energy sector?
08:22 - What early moment showed you how engineering, business, and law fit together to get energy deals done?
10:16 - What does a day in the life of a climate lawyer look like?
13:24 - Where are you seeing the biggest challenges across the sector right now?
17:19 - Given your point about certainty, how do you think it will shape where and how capital is invested in clean energy over the next year?
20:16 - With AI and data centres driving soaring power demand, what’s the biggest myth about future energy needs that we should retire?
22:20 - How can developers safeguard projects and protect deals when policies or incentives change midstream?
25:00 - What are the strategies that are helping to bring down the overall cost of capital?
26:45 - What do the best leadership teams do differently to keep deals moving and partners aligned, especially when things change?
31:49 - If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of career advice, what would it be?

Connect with your hosts, Jenny Gladman and Chloe England, on LinkedIn.

Find your guest, Mona Dajani, on LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening to Conversations in Cleantech brought to you by Brightsmith.

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