Caroline Petersen

Background

About Caroline Petersen

I am currently serving as Chair of the independent Technical Advisory Panel (iTAP) of the Green Climate Fund. The GCF is the world’s largest climate fund, mandated to support developing countries to raise and realize their ambitions towards low-emissions, climate-resilient pathways. I have been an iTAP member since January 2021, and bring to the panel specialist expertise in the area of Ecosystems. The iTAP provides the GCF Board with independent technical assessment of funding proposals from developing countries and private sector entities. I am also currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Nature for Water Facility (an initiative of The Nature Conservancy supported by Pegasys), and am also a member of the Advisory Board of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.Over a 20-year career in sustainable development, I have developed areas of specialization in: ecosystem-based adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction; sustainable land and forest management and restoration; biodiversity and wildlife conservation; and climate-smart agriculture, agroforestry and agri-processing. I have an MSc (Econ) from the London School of Economics, and have worked in my home country in both the public sector (South African National Biodiversity Institute) and the private sector (Common Ground Consulting). For a decade I was part of the global Nature, Climate & Energy team of the United Nations Development Programme, supporting developing country governments to access grant finance for biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation. This includes support from bilateral donors, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund, Least Development Countries Fund and GCF. I have also worked with the World Bank’s Environment & Natural Resources Global Practice, as well as the Nature, People and Climate Program of the Climate Investment Funds, UNESCO, and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, leading teams responsible for project development, policy formulation and technical review work. As a volunteer, I am Chair of the National Steering Committee of the GEF Small Grants Programme in South Africa, which supports grassroots community organisations on environmental projects. I am also a mentor with the World Resources Institute’s Land Accelerator programme, supporting land restoration entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia, and I am involved with conservation organisations in the Cape Floristic Region.