Equitable and Sustainable Cities

Dr. Mahesti Okitasari is a consultant at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) with a background in regional planning and international development from the University of Tokyo. She is also a senior research fellow with the Earth System Governance. Her research portfolio focuses extensively on Asia-Pacific and African countries and cities. Her current research covers multilevel governance arrangements and policy processes to synergise the Paris Agreement-SDG implementation. On climate adaptation, her work revolves around inclusive climate finance and renewable energy. She is keen to understand linkages between development policies and global frameworks to deliver socially inclusive decarbonisation strategies and build knowledge on the partnerships for sustainable development.

Dr. Paul Hudson is a lecturer in environmental economics at the University of York, who works interdisciplinarity upon natural hazard risk management, climate change adaptation, nature-based solutions, and natural capital. He is currently the co-chair of the Finance and Economics KAN for Future Earth. Paul works across topics and fields relating to how we can be better prepared for the eventual worsening impacts of climate change and what options are at our disposal for doing so. For example, how can we encourage the use of property level flood protection measures, how effective these measures are, what are the intangible impacts of flooding, and the use of novel insurance mechanisms to support resilience. He is increasingly working on using nature-based solutions to build our stock of natural capital and use the resulting ecosystem services to hit multiple social and environmental goals simultaneously in a manner that is ecological and socially just.

Dr. Masachika Suzuki is a professor at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies atSophia University in Tokyo and an Adjunct Professor at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). His research interests include clean energy technology innovation and development, sustainable finance and banking, and sustainable tourism and community development. He received PhD from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam in the Netherlands and MAs from Columbia University in the US and Keio University in Japan. He has work experience in the field of environmental and energy consultancy. The positions include senior analyst positions at Mitsubishi Securities in Tokyo and Innovest Strategic Value Advisors in New York as well as consultant positions at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) at the UN headquarters in New York and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn.