The involvement of the private sector on climate change adaptation is widely seen as a critical step to scale up access to resources. That is why IDRC has directed part of its climate adaptation research efforts to explore how best to engage the private sector. We have engaged Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) not only to assess key gaps in the building of business cases for climate resilience, but also to enhance the range of investment choices available to the private sector to support climate compatible development.

David Wei leads BSR’s climate practice to maximize the impact of our applied research, collaborative initiatives, and work with individual companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience. He is also the international policy lead for the We Mean Business coalition.

Before joining BSR, David was a climate diplomat for the Marshall Islands with the advisory group Independent Diplomat and led on transparency issues in the UN climate negotiations for the Alliance of Small Island States. As an international lawyer with the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development, David built up the environmental treaty expertise of countries across the globe. He began his career as a securities litigator with Fried Frank in New York before focusing on climate change and energy. David holds a LL.M. in International Law from New York University, a J.D. and M.A. in International Relations from the University of Toronto, and a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale University.

Transcripts are available here: ENG: https://www.idrc.ca/en/enhancing-private-sector-engagement-climate-change-adaptation-david-wei FR: https://www.idrc.ca/fr/renforcer-lengagement-du-secteur-prive-en-ce-qui-concerne-ladaptation-aux-changements-david-wei

Into and outro: © Kevin McLeod