Since the beginning of the German presidency of the European Union in July, Annela Anger-Kraavi, a Cambridge-educated Estonian scientist, has been leading the EU’s high-level climate change negotiations.
Anger-Kraavi, a climate expert who has been involved in the UN climate negotiations for many years, leads the negotiations on the effects of the EU climate change mitigation measures at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“My topics in the negotiations are a fair transition to a carbon-free economy and economic diversification and science related topics. The environment and climate are very multifaceted issues and the goal must be to implement changes so that members of society and also societies do not suffer,” Anger-Kraavi said in a statement.
“Every year, at least 250,000 people around the world die as a result of the effects of climate change. This occurs mainly in poorer countries. At the same time, moving very sharply towards a carbon-neutral economy will also pose challenges, first and foremost for those at risk of poverty, but also for those whose jobs are linked to the production and use of carbon-rich fuels such as our oil shale,” she added.
A global career
Anger-Kraavi is an experienced expert in climate change economics and politics and in international climate change negotiations. Since December 2019, she has been the co-chair of the United Nations Framework Convention’s Katowice Committee on the Impacts of the Implementation of the Response Measures.
In addition, she is the chief executive of the Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics, an educational charity that promotes new thinking in economics. She has advised and is advising several UN organisations and the governments of various countries, including Estonia.
Anger-Kraavi holds a PhD in climate change economics and a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Cambridge in the UK, where she now leads research projects and teaches students. Before commencing studies at Cambridge, she graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in biology and then from Tallinn University of Technology with a degree in national economics.
Read also: Annela Anger-Kraavi: Positive and negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic on climate change.
Cover: Annela Anger-Kraavi at a climate event in Tallinn, Estonia, 2019 (private collection).
