Speakers of the conference on climate change. Part 2

We continue to introduce you the speakers of the Central Asia Climate Change Conference.

At the Conference, Takayoshi Kato, Policy Analyst of the Environment Directorate of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will speak.

Mr. Kato will deliver a report on the integration of climate change adaptation into development cooperation in the Thematic Session "Sustainable Economic Development in the light of climate change: recommendations from the existing regional and local initiatives". Mr. Kato's current work focuses on policies that help mobilize various financial resources for actions towards green growth in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Takayoshi also led and contributed to several OECD projects, such as on: climate finance in the context of UNFCCC negotiations; access to adaptation finance; risk-based approaches to decision making for adaptation actions; and mitigation contributions in the Paris Agreement on climate change. Before joining the OECD, Takayoshi worked in the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group where he provided policy- and business-related advice to his clients in the private and public sectors on energy and climate change issues for several years.

The third Session of the first day of the Conference will be moderated by Philippe Ambrosi.

Philippe Ambrosi is a Senior Environmental Economist with the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice at the World Bank. He holds a PhD in Environmental Economics at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris). He joined the World Bank in 2005 and in his first position he co-authored for six years the State and Trends of the Carbon Market. After that, he worked in the Climate Policy and Finance Department on research products (Mobilizing Climate Finance paper for the G-20), knowledge portals for climate readiness. Today, Philip's activities include managing a regional climate adaptation and mitigation program in Central Asia and advisory services on climate policies and institutions in several ECA countries.

Within the framework of Session 4 on global funding sources and local mechanisms of climate investments, Paul Steele, Chief Economist of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) will have a speech. The subject of his report is Climate finance and implications for the global economy. Paul spent eight years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangkok working on climate and development finance. Mr. Steele was the only environmental economist and focused on poverty and environment issues in Africa and Asia in his work at the Department of International Development (DFID). Paul holds BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Oxford University and MSc in Environmental Economics from London University. His vast experience in managing finances in the field of climate and environment allowed him to set up the Economics for the Environment Consultancy (EFTEC), the largest environmental economics consultancy in the UK.

We remind that the Conference, the goal of which is an exchange of knowledge and information on climate change in Central Asia, will be held in Almaty on 24-25 January.