Michael I. Westphal

Senior Associate, Sustainable Finance, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Bio

Michael is a Senior Associate in the Sustainable Finance team. In addition, he works on the New Climate Economy project and with the Ross Center for Sustainable Cities on the World Resources Report on sustainable cities (“Towards a More Equal City”) and the Coalition for Urban Transitions. He has led work on climate finance, low-carbon energy, and urban energy.

Michael has more than 18 years of experience working in the environment, climate change and international development fields. Prior to joining WRI, Michael was a Senior Associate at Abt Associates, where we was the Technical Director for the USAID Analysis and Investment for Low-Emission Growth project. He has worked for and consulted for a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. For the ADB, he co-led a study on the Economics of Climate Change in East Asia. At the World Bank, he co-authored a number of reports, including the World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change, Adapting to Climate Change in Europe and Central Asia, and Adaptation to a Changing Climate in the Arab Countries, as well as helping to lead the development of the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal. Prior to this, Michael was an American Association for the Advancement of Science Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the EPA’s Office of International Affairs, where he worked with the State Department on a science cooperation and weapons non-proliferation project in the former Soviet Union.

Michael holds a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California at Berkeley, with a focus on ecological modeling and conservation planning.

Blog Posts

Electrification Doesn't Make Sense Everywhere—Yet
by Michael I. Westphal, Christopher Kennedy and Iain D. Stewart - February 13, 2019
105 cities with populations over 1 million should begin to switch their vehicles, stoves, and furnaces to electric-powered alternatives.
INSIDER: 7 Things to Know About the Economic Analysis of the New Climate Economy 2018 Report
by Michael I. Westphal, Dora Fazekas and Leonardo Garrido - January 30, 2019
We don't know the future. We do know there would be huge benefits to shifting towards a low-carbon economy. Here are answers to seven of the most-asked questions about the economics of the NCE report.
4 Ways to Shift from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy
by Jan Corfee-Morlot, Michael I. Westphal and Rachel Spiegel - January 15, 2019
Despite growing attention on clean energy, fossil fuels still account for 80 percent of global energy consumption. Here are four ways to cost-effectively make the transition to a clean energy future.
INSIDER: Development Bank Investments in Electricity Transmission and Distribution Should Align with the Paris Agreement
by Michael I. Westphal - December 18, 2018
Development banks can align their investments in electricity grids with the Paris Agreement by incorporating a shadow carbon price and making sure their investments support long-term plans for decarbonizing the electricity sector.
Powering Cities in the Global South: How Energy Access for All Benefits the Economy and the Environment
by Michael I. Westphal, Sarah Martin and David Satterthwaite - September 07, 2017
Cleaner cooking, off-grid generation and efficient buildings are key to sustainable urban development for the world's poorest.
3 Reasons Renewable Energy Is Poised to Take Off in Developing Cities
by Michael I. Westphal - June 27, 2017
Declining costs, political commitment and innovative finance and business models are driving installation.
Why Now Is the Time to Make Energy Access in Cities a Top Priority
by Michael I. Westphal, Sarah Martin and David Satterthwaite - October 11, 2016
When delegates gather in Quito for Habitat III to adopt the New Urban Agenda for sustainable cities, they should keep in mind people like Adelaida, a banker and mother in Accra, Ghana, where unreliable, expensive electricity is a challenge. As a forthcoming paper of the World Resources Report shows, ensuring access to affordable energy and the economic opportunity it brings will be essential for a sustainable, prosperous urban future.
World Resources Report: Towards a More Equal City - Framing Opportunities and Challenges
by Victoria A. Beard, Anjali Mahendra and Michael I. Westphal - October 06, 2016
Once every 20 years, the world's urban leaders gather to determine the best course of action for the world's cities. This year, at Habitat III, the 21st century challenges for cities are clear. WRI's World Resources Report examines whether providing equitable access to services can make cities more economically productive and environmentally sustainable.
Improving Life for the Urban Under-Served Makes Cities Better for All – But That’s Not the Only Reason to Do It
by Michael I. Westphal, Anjali Mahendra and Victoria A. Beard - September 20, 2016
Tackling inequality in the world's cities can be a crucial way to foster urban development, improve the environment and spur the economy.
5 Principles to Guide Financial Institution Action on Climate Change
by Giulia Christianson and Michael I. Westphal - December 09, 2015
A new initiative launched in Paris this week demonstrates the growing recognition that action by financial institutions – both public and private – is necessary to begin shifting trillions of dollars toward low-carbon development.

Publications

Shifting Currents: Opportunities For Low-Carbon Electric Cities In The Global South
The paper uses two criteria to identify cities in the Global South that today are candidates for electrification – replacing fossil fuel–powered vehicles, stoves, furnaces and other devices with electric alternatives. First, urban access to electricity (i.e., the percentage of people with a...
by Christopher Kennedy, Iain D. Stewart and Michael I. Westphal - February 2019

publication
Topics: Climate, Energy, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Aligning Electricity Transmission and Distribution Investments with a Paris Agreement Pathway
Parties to the Paris Agreement committed to “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low GHG emissions and climate-resilient development (Article 2.1c).” It is especially critical that energy-sector infrastructure is Paris aligned, given the large carbon lock-in potential of...
by Michael I. Westphal and Indira Masullo - December 2018

publication
Topics: Finance, Climate, Energy
Designing and Testing a Methodology to Estimate Private Climate Finance Mobilization from Policy and Other Causal Factors
Climate finance is increasingly important with the recent entry into force of the Paris Agreement. Countries will need significant amounts of climate finance to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions, and the largest pools of finance exist in the private sector. Consequently,...
by Ashley Green and Michael I. Westphal - September 2017

publication
Topics: Finance
Geography: Brazil, Kenya, Uruguay
Powering Cities in the Global South: How Energy Access for All Benefits the Economy and the Environment
Millions of residents in some of the fastest growing cities in the world don’t have access to clean, reliable energy, and the challenge of reaching them is not getting easier. In 2012, only 58 percent of the urban population had access to electricity in low-income countries, and nearly 500...
by Michael I. Westphal, Lihuan Zhou, David Satterthwaite and Sarah Martin - September 2017

publication
Topics: Africa, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Geography: Africa, Latin America, South Asia
Towards a More Equal City: Framing the Challenges and Opportunities
Cities are growing differently today than before. As much as 70 percent of people in emerging cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America is under-served. Furthermore, cities face challenges in four areas:

Highest rates of urbanization are in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast
...
by Victoria A. Beard, Anjali Mahendra and Michael I. Westphal - October 2016
publication
Topics: WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Transformational Climate Finance: An Exploration of Low-Carbon Energy
This working paper examines how climate finance can be transformational by gleaning insights from nine low-carbon energy case studies, selected to cover a variety of geographies, energy sources, and degrees of transformation.

by Michael I. Westphal and Joe Thwaites - March 2016

publication
Topics: Finance
Getting to $100 Billion: Climate Finance Scenarios and Projections to 2020
This paper contributes to the dialogue about what types of finance could count toward the $100 billion goal.

We analyze this question quantitatively by projecting various finance sources forward to 2020 to demonstrate the scenarios under which reaching the $100 billion goal is possible....
by Michael I. Westphal, Athena Ballesteros, Jennifer Morgan and Pascal Canfin - June 2015

publication
Topics: Finance, Climate, COP 21

External Publications

"Keeping global climate change within 1.5°C through net negative electric cities."
By Kennedy Michael, Stewart Michael, Westphal Michael.
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 30 (2018): 18-25 DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2018.02.009.

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Michael I. Westphal

Electrification Doesn't Make Sense Everywhere—Yet

INSIDER: 7 Things to Know About the Economic Analysis of the New Climate Economy 2018 Report

4 Ways to Shift from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy

INSIDER: Development Bank Investments in Electricity Transmission and Distribution Should Align with the Paris Agreement

Powering Cities in the Global South: How Energy Access for All Benefits the Economy and the Environment

3 Reasons Renewable Energy Is Poised to Take Off in Developing Cities

Why Now Is the Time to Make Energy Access in Cities a Top Priority

World Resources Report: Towards a More Equal City - Framing Opportunities and Challenges

Improving Life for the Urban Under-Served Makes Cities Better for All – But That’s Not the Only Reason to Do It

5 Principles to Guide Financial Institution Action on Climate Change

Shifting Currents: Opportunities For Low-Carbon Electric Cities In The Global South

Aligning Electricity Transmission and Distribution Investments with a Paris Agreement Pathway

Designing and Testing a Methodology to Estimate Private Climate Finance Mobilization from Policy and Other Causal Factors

Powering Cities in the Global South: How Energy Access for All Benefits the Economy and the Environment

Towards a More Equal City: Framing the Challenges and Opportunities

Transformational Climate Finance: An Exploration of Low-Carbon Energy

Getting to $100 Billion: Climate Finance Scenarios and Projections to 2020

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