Planning Just Transitions: A Practical Guide

A public policy expert, Srestha’s interest lies in improving environment and resource governance, and securing community rights through an interface of strong research and advocacy. She is the Director, Just Transition at iFOREST. Her current areas of work include climate change and just transition, mining and benefit sharing, environmental justice and participatory governance.

She has over 12 years of experience working with Indian and US-based environment and public policy think tanks. She has authored/co-authored several scholarly publications in her areas of work, and also engages in public outreach through her writings. She has also been advising policy institutions and government agencies at national and state levels. Presently she also serves as an Advisory Board member of Just Transition Initiative, a collaboration of the Climate Investment Funds (World Bank) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (US).

Srestha holds a PhD in Environmental and Energy Policy from the University of Delaware, and a Master in Environmental Studies from Ohio University. 
 

Andrzej joined Climate Strategies in 2012 and since then has led its development into a world-leading research-policy network. Most impactful initiatives convened during Andrzej’s time at Climate Strategies include: research and dialogue on global coal, oil & gas transitions; implementing Just Transitions in developing countries; Global Climate Policy Conferences; industrial innovation; making trade more climate-friendly; shifting climate policy frontier in CEE region in transport and buildings.

Prior to Climate Strategies, Andrzej served as a Cabinet member and adviser on climate change to the Polish Minister of Environment during the Polish EU Presidency; was a senior member of various Polish delegations in the UNFCCC and European policy processes (while at the Polish National Centre for Emission Management KASHUE-KOBiZE), ran the Brussels office of the Center for Clean Air Policy and co-developed carbon business at HVB Bank in Germany.

For the past 20 years, Andrzej has facilitated numerous conferences, workshops and side-events in all formats, including at the UNFCCC annual COPs, for the EU institutions and more recently in virtual environment.

Andrzej is a Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund and a fellow of the US Department of State. He holds a Master’s degree in environmental management from the University of Warsaw and also completed international courses at the UN University in Tokyo.

Mariana Alfonso is a sector lead specialist in the Climate Change and Sustainability Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where she acts as a focal point to mainstream climate change mitigation and adaptation into the Social Sector’s operational and analytical program. She is currently working on issues of just transition, green jobs, climate shock-responsive social protection programs, among others. She joined the IDB in 2006 and has held positions in the Research Department, Education Division and Vice-Presidency for Sectors and Knowledge.

Mariana holds a PhD in Economics and Education from Columbia University (USA) and a BA in Economics from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina).

Jesse Burton is a senior researcher in the Energy Systems Research group at the University of Cape Town and a senior associate at global thinktank E3G. She is a specialist in coal and electricity markets and energy and climate change policy in South Africa. Her research focuses on the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition for coal-dependent countries, including just transition strategies and plans at national and provincial level. She was a member of the Secretariat of the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a world-first approach to financing Just Transition, and was part of the team that drafted the country’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan under the Partnership.

Her research has quantified and examined the politics of fossil fuel subsidies in South Africa, the cost and greenhouse gas implications of future coal investments, the costs and risks of stranded assets in the South African energy sector, and the economics of coal-fired power and coal mining. She led the South African team of the global Coal Transitions research project, which examined the implications of fossil fuel economics and climate policy on large coal countries, including labor market effects. Recent projects have included the development of an electricity plan for South Africa in the context of global climate policy goals, analysis of the employment and skills impacts of future electricity pathways, strategies for implementing a just transition for coal workers and communities in South Africa.
 

Drawing on a background in international relations and in environmental engineering, Aaron has extensive experience with energy transitions, climate policy and climate finance, including in senior policy roles for state government in Australia, and across Asia, Africa, and Latin America as a senior research fellow for the Stockholm Environment Institute. He has prepared climate action plans for local government in Australia, and has worked with adaptation planning and implementation of adaptation projects in the Pacific region’s small island states while climate change adviser for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.  Aaron also has experience in assessment and regulation of the mining sector, in Australia and Canada, and has collaborated with community-based organizations on small scale renewable energy projects in Thailand.  

Neha leads Evaluation and Learning (E&L) at the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), driving the organization's mission to transform CIF into a dynamic learning laboratory. Under her leadership, the E&L unit delivers evidence-based, timely, and relevant insights, ensuring CIF's initiatives are informed by the latest and most reliable information.

With over fifteen years of experience in the climate, environment, and development sectors, Neha is a recognized expert in evaluation methods, results measurement, knowledge management, and learning. Her career includes pivotal roles at the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank, where she advanced national and organizational evaluation capacity. She has also contributed to evaluative research and policy engagement in organizations such as the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and India Infrastructure Publishing.

Neha holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Master’s degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She is deeply committed to using evidence to shape strategy and drive transformative change, addressing some of the most pressing challenges for people and the planet.