MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy
Public Policy
UN Climate Change Janos Pasztor Lecture on March 3rd
By
As part of its Distinguished Speaker Series, the MIT CFP invites you to a lunch lecture by
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Janos Pasztor -Senior Adviser of the UN Secretary-General for Climate Change
When: Thursday, March 3rd, 2016; 12 pm – 1 pm; Lunch provided at 11:45 am.
Where: Location: E62-223 - Open to the MIT community.
For questions, please contact Laura Walker at MITCFP@mit.edu or 617-324-7367.
Climate Finance
Much of the debate during recent climate negotiations focused on the commitment by developed countries to provide $100 billion annually in assistance to developing countries for climate action. This political commitment has to be met and then maintained; progress has been made but there is still a ways to go. While the availability of $100 billion for small-island and least-developed states is crucial, for the world to shift to low-emissions and resilient economies trillions – not billions – of dollars are needed. Such amounts can only come through the private sector. Janos Pasztor will explore efforts that are underway in the public as well as private spheres to mobilize the required resources. Special efforts of the UN Secretary General in this area will also be addressed.
Janos Pasztor is currently Senior Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Change. A national of Hungary (and later also of Switzerland), he received his MS and BS degrees at MIT. During the last 35 years, he has worked for various UN as well as non-governmental organizations on issues of energy and environment, and over time increasingly on climate change. His assignments included work with the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Commission on Environment and Development (the WCED or “Brundtland Commission”), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the secretariat of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or the “Earth Summit”), the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Environment Management Group – EMG. He first joined the office of the UN Secretary-General (EOSG) in 2008 as Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team. During 2012-2014 he worked at WWF International, and in January 2015 he returned to EOSG as Assistant Secretary-General on Climate Change – a position he filled until 31 January 2016.
