ASIFMA Annual Conference 2025
17 February 2025, Hong Kong
James Grabert
Director, Sustainable Development Mechanisms Programme
UNFCCC
Mr. Grabert has worked for the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) for more than 20 years. Most recently he worked on organizational change and strategic development as Special Advisor the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC in 2015 and prior to that as CIO from 2013. Following these more recent assignments, in January 2016 he returned to head the Sustainable Development Mechanisms Programme of the UNFCCC, leads the work on market-based approaches to climate change mitigation. In Addition, he is also leading Global Climate Action under the Paris Agreement, while engaging with High Level Climate Champions, Parties and non-Party stakeholders including private sector. Prior to 2006 he served as a greenhouse gas emissions specialist and worked in numerous expert groups of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Before joining the United Nations, he was an industry and regional analyst for the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland.
Mr. Grabert holds a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Wheaton College, Masters of International Economics from the Institut de Hautes Études Internationales in Geneva, and has undertaken post-graduate studies in Management at Stanford University, University of Navarra (IESE) and London Business School and in Development at Harvard University.
