Course Instructors
The course features 24 of the world's leading experts and practitioners in climate solutions from academia, the development field, the private sector and more. Below, please find information about the lead faculty, contributing institutions, and other partners.
Lead Faculty
Jeffrey D. Sachs
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. He was called by the New York Times, “probably the most important economist in the world,” and by Time Magazine “the world’s best known economist.” A recent survey by The Economist Magazine ranked Professor Sachs as among the world’s three most influential living economists of the past decade.
Jim Williams
Dr. Jim Williams is an associate professor in the new Energy System Management graduate program at the University of San Francisco, and director of the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project for the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. For many years he was chief scientist at Energy and Environmental Economics, where he consulted on energy technology, planning, and regulation for government, utility, and industry clients. He is the lead author of two landmark studies of how to deeply reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. while maintaining a vigorous economy, "Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States" and "Policy Implications of Deep Decarbonization in the United States."
Contributing Institutions
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change faced in the twenty-first century. Founded in 1972, IIASA conducts policy-oriented research into problems of a global nature that are too large or too complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
WBCSD is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. Their Global Network of almost 70 national business councils gives members unparalleled reach across the globe. WBCSD is uniquely positioned to work with member companies along and across value chains to deliver high-impact business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues.
With Participation From
Peter Bakker, President and CEO, WBCSD
Juraj Balkovic, Research Scholar, IIASA
Dr. Chris Bataille, Researcher, Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI); Adjunct Professor, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Steffen Fritz, Senior Research Scholar, IIASA
Vasilis Fthenakis, Director of the Center for Life Cycle Analysis, Columbia University
Edgar Galrao, Manager of Climate & Energy, WBCSD
Petr Havlik, Senior Research Scholar, IIASA
Mariana Heinrich, Manager of Climate & Energy, WBCSD
William C. Horak, Chair of the Nuclear Science and Technology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Ryan A. Jones, Co-founder, Evolved Energy Research
Ian McCallum, Research Scholar, IIASA
Stephanie McClellan, Ph.D., Director of the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, University of Delaware
Maria Mendiluce, Managing Director of Natural Capital, WBCSD
Vijay Modi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University
Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, United States (2013-2017)
Michael Obersteiner, Program Director, IIASA
George Safonov, Director of the Center for Environmental Economics, National Research University – Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
William M. Sisson, Senior Director of Sustainability and REACH, United Technologies Research Center at the United Technologies Corporation
Aline Soterroni, Research Scholar, IIASA
John Thwaites, Chair, ClimateWorks Australia
Hugo Valin, Research Scholar, IIASA
Nathalie Walker, Senior Manager of Tropical Forest and Agriculture, National Wildlife Federation (NWF)