The second event of the Spring 2023 Sustainability Seminar Series will take place on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 3:00 pm AST., with the title “Investing in Living Nature for a Regenerative Future” by Dr. Ralph Chami, Co-Founder of Blue Green Future and Rebalance Earth.
Abstract
Humanity is facing the twin risks of climate change and the loss of nature and its biodiversity. Both risks, to a large extent, are due to human behavior. Changing the mindset from nature as an externality to one that places nature at the center of economic activity is key. In this seminar, Dr. Chami will provide a road map as to how to build an equitable economy with nature and people at its core. He will highlight the challenges, opportunities, and the promise of building a new nature-based economic paradigm by providing examples from the carbon market. By mobilizing billions of euros in carbon and biodiversity credits while helping provide jobs and sustainable livelihoods for communities implementing the projects, blue and green carbon converges with the efforts to rebuild our natural capital, the ecosystem components that support human wellbeing. Finally, he will provide examples of how a new economy of blue and green, fauna and flora, nature can be designed that realizes the economic value of the benefits flowing from nature to ensure sustainable and shared prosperity for all.
About the Speaker
Dr. Ralph Chami has over 32 years of experience as a financial economist, with 25 years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he held senior positions in operations, research, surveillance, and capacity development. He is the co-founder of Blue Green Future and Rebalance Earth. He boasts a broad range of expertise including remittances, fragile states, inclusive growth, financial markets development, banking regulation and most recently valuing natural capital, blue and green, fauna and flora, so as to build markets and an economy around a living and thriving nature. He has a BS from the American University of Beirut, an MBA in Finance and Statistics from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University.
This event is brought to you by Students for Sustainability, with the support of the Office of Student Life and the Office of Sustainability. Should you have any questions, please contact S2 at s.square@kaust.edu.sa.