Event Information
Expositor: Suzi Kerr
Suzi Kerr is the Chief Economist at Environmental Defense Fund. Suzi ensures the economic integrity of EDF’s positions and programs. Leading a group of economists and analysts, she collaborates with economists and other researchers and stakeholders from a variety of organizations around world to produce research and policy guidance relevant to EDF’s mission. Suzi´s current research work focuses on climate change. She empirically and theoretically investigates domestic and international climate change policy with special emphasis on emissions pricing and land use.
Abstract:
A holistic approach – instead of tackling problems incrementally – must play a pivotal role in climate transition. Transitioning to a low-carbon economy requires multifaceted strategies that encompass pricing, planning, regulation, and institutional mechanisms. Current approaches are not mobilizing sufficient action and investment. We highlight the importance of leveraging all sources and instruments, including public funds, private investments, carbon markets, and philanthropy, to fill the climate finance gap and release the huge opportunity to support economic development and promote climate stability. We introduce the idea of the "Mitigation Avocado", where individual projects are complemented by infrastructure, institutions and regulations that create an improved investment environment, and a large-scale systems approach ensures integrity in rewards for change observed at the system level. We explore how holistic approaches with large-scale international carbon market agreements can jointly mobilize private finance and unlock the potential capacity of the global south for climate action and sustainable development.