BC3. Basque centre for climate change – Klima aldaketa ikergai

This workshop is a tribute to Anil Markandya´ s lifetime achievements and it is also recognition of his work as a Scientific Director at BC3 (Basque Centre for Climate Change) since its creation in 2008 until 2015.

Anil Markandya is a worldwide leading expert and one of the most recognized researchers in the environmental field; not only addressing theoretical aspects of environmental problems, but also developing appropriate policy approaches.

Prof. Markandya was one of the authors that coined the Green Economy concept in a pioneering 1989 report for the UK Government produced jointly with a group of leading environmental economists: Blueprint for a Green Economy (Pearce, Markandya and Barbier, 1989). Though at that time the concept did not receive wide acceptance, the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis in 2007 made it abundantly clear that the current development paradigm was not yielding desired outcomes on all fronts: economic, social, and environmental. Prof. Markandya´ s research has helped to make the business case for investing in sustainability. He has provided explicit evidence to all stakeholders that such investments do result in economic benefits as well. Further, since he believes human well-being should be the ultimate goal of the research carried out.

Environmental and natural resource economics is concerned with questions about what these resources are and how should be managed in a sustainable way. Among the main challenges in this area of research we can include climate change (i.e. the excessive use of the earth’s atmosphere as a sink for greenhouse gas emissions), how to value natural resources or how can be measure sustainability.

This tribute, conceived as a farewell event, will take place on the 15th of December 2015 at Bizkaia Aretoa (Room Oteiza) in Bilbao (Avenida Abandoibarra 3, 48009 Bilbao).

During this event, we will count on the valuable contributions of Dr. Ibon Galarraga, Mrs. Teresa Ribera and Prof. Gallastegui, where the mainstream of 30 years of Environmental Economics will be at stake.

Please confirm attendance
events@bc3research.org

Prof. Mari Carmen Gallastegui

Mari Carmen Gallastegui is a graduate of Economics and Business Administration from the University of Valladolid, M. Sc (Econ) from the London School of Economics, UK, and PhD from Brown University (USA). She Is a professor of Economic Theory and has been Director of the Environmental Economics Unit of the Institute of Public Economics at the University of the Basque Country.

Her research began with the development of optimum management models for the exploitation of renewable resources. She has published in the area of economic theory related to the operation and design of the public sector, the incorporation of the Spanish economy to the euro area and the phenomenon of economic activity delocalisation. She has led many research projects for the Ministry, the Basque Government and the UPV/EHU as well as having participated in both the Fifth and Sixth Framework Program of the European Union, as PI of the investigation group composed of members from the UPV/EHU and AZTI/Tecnalia. Apart from her research work at the University, she has participated in numerous funded projects being implemented from the Institute of Public Economics, holding the post of Director. She has held the post of Director of the PhD Program in Economic Analysis, Quantitative Techniques and Public Economy, receiving recognition of quality by the Ministry and she has led a research group of excellence.

In 2005, she won the National Lucas Mallada Award for Economics and the Environment, as well as the Euskadi Prize for Research in Economics in 2006. She has been a member of the Economic and Social Council, member of the Governing Board of UPV/EHU, member of the Faculty Council, Director of the Department of Economic Theory at the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences and member of the UPV/EHU Social Council. President (2007-July 2009) of the Executive Committee of Ikerbasque, the Basque Foundation for Science, created by the Basque Government with the aim of attracting established researchers from the Basque scientific system. She held the post of Director of Economy and Planning of the Basque Government in 1991 while she was jointly awarded alongside Paco Etxeberria the Eusko Ikaskuntza - Humanities, Culture, Arts and Social Sciences Buildings Society Award in 2013.

Mrs. Teresa Ribera

Mrs. Teresa Ribera is currently director of IDDRI. Teresa was Secretary of State for Climate Change in Spain’s Government between 2008 and 2011, responsible for environment and climate policies as well as the national meteorological agency. Between September 2012 and June 2013 she has been working in the renewable energy industry. She held different technical positions in the ministries of Public Works, Transportation and Environment (1996-2004) and was Director-General for climate (2004-2008).

Mrs. Teresa Ribera graduated in Law, holds the diploma in constitutional law and political science of the Centro de Estudios Constitucionales (Spain) and belongs to the Cuerpo Superior de Administradores Civiles del Estado. She has been assistant professor in public law in the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain).

She is a frequent collaborator to several think tanks and non-profit organisations, as well as to different international organisations. She has participated in numerous conferences, workshops and publications on climate change, environment, energy, international governance and EU institutions.

Mrs. Teresa Ribera chairs the Advisory Board of the Momentum For Change UNFCCC Initiative; She is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Advisory Council on Climate in the WEF, and of the UNSDSN's Global Leadership Council.

Ibon Galarraga

Dr. Galarraga holds a Ph.D. in Economics (Environmental Economics) from the University of Bath (UK), M.A. Economics at the University of Essex (UK) and B.A. Economics (speciality of International Economics and Development) at the University of Basque Country.

Dr. Galarraga has worked as an environmental consultant for many years for both public and private clients such as the World Bank, the Department for International Development of the British Government or the Basque Government. He was co-founder of a consultancy company.

Dr. Galarraga taught microeconomics and macroeconomics at the University of Bath and Economic Policy at the University of Deusto.

During July 2005 and May 2009, he was the Deputy Minister for the Environment of the Basque Government, Vicepresident of IHOBE and member of the board of the Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE). While in this position he was in charge of the preparation of the Environmental Framework Programme 2007-2010, the Basque Plan to combat Climate Change 2008-2012 or the Contaminated Soil Plan 2007-2012 among others.

Regarding the International sphere, he was the Deputy Co-Chair of the Network of Regional Governments on Sustainable Development (nrg4sd) from 2005-2008 and has actively participated in the CoP Summits, since 2011.During 2013-2015 he was the Deputy Director of BC3.

Anil Markandya

Professor Markandya is a resource economist who has worked in this field for over thirty years and is acknowledged as one of the leading authorities. He graduated from the London School of Economics with a Master of Science in Econometrics in 1968 and was awarded his Ph.D. on the Economics of the Environment in 1975.

Since then he has divided his time between academic and advisory work. On the academic side he has published widely in the areas of climate change, environmental valuation, environmental policy, energy and environment, green accounting, macroeconomics and trade. Some of his best-known works include, ´Blueprint for a Green Economy’, ´Green Accounting in Europe’, ´Reconciling Trade and Development’ and ´Cleaning the Ganges’.

Prof. Markandya has held academic positions at the universities of Princeton, Berkeley and Harvard in the US and at University College London and Bath University in the UK, and was a lead author for Chapters of the 3rd and 4th IPCC Assessment Reports on Climate Change. He was appointed the Executive Director for the Basque Centre for Climate Change in April 2008.Professor Markandya has worked extensively on climate change and energy and environment issues and has received a number of awards. Prof. Markandya was one of the core team that drafted the IPCC 4th Assessment that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.In 2008 he was nominated by Cambridge University as one of the 50 most influential thinkers on sustainability in the world.

In 2012 he was made President Elect of the European Association of Environmental & Resource Economists (EAERE), his two year term as President beginning January 2014.Professor Markandya has also been an advisor to many national and international organizations, including all the international development banks, UNDP, the EU and the governments of India and the UK. At the World Bank he was a Lead Advisor and worked closely on energy and environmental issues with many governments in Asia, Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union.