Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
SEI’s US Centre Director brings more than two decades of experience with academia and global environment and development institutions, including the World Bank and Global Environment Facility.
SEI US Centre Director and Senior Scientist Edward R. Carr was named interim Chair this week of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) to the Global Environment Facility (GEF). His term will run from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
The STAP is an independent science panel hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that advises the GEF on its strategy, policies, programs and projects, ensuring it stays at the leading edge of addressing global environmental issues in a manner that advances global agreements. Its priorities in the coming year include translating global science into practical advice to the GEF, enhancing the quality of the GEF investment portfolio, and helping the GEF learn from experience and adjust approach as needed.
Carr previously served on STAP as the panel member for climate change adaptation from 2020 to 2024. In that role, he supported the GEF’s work within the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund, reviewing project proposals for quality, developing guidance for the design of more impactful projects, and creating approaches to understanding the benefits delivered by the GEF’s adaptation portfolio. He also led cross-cutting work on the importance of behavioral change to GEF goals, how to generate transformative change through GEF projects, and the use of simple scenarios to support project design that produced durable impacts.
I am excited to rejoin STAP as the interim Chair. In my time as the panel member for climate change adaptation, I appreciated the opportunity to work with panel members, the STAP secretariat, the GEF secretariat, and GEF agencies to support the GEF’s core mission of delivering global environmental benefits. I look forward to working with them, and learning from them, in this new role.
Edward R. Carr
Carr’s role this year will include steering STAP through its review by the GEF Council, which will explore STAP’s mandate, governance, structure, role and operations.
The Council review of STAP is an opportunity to strengthen the panel and ensure that its advice continues to play a central role in the future directions of the GEF. I look forward to working with Council members and the GEF family to ensure STAP’s mission aligns with the GEF's evolving needs for scientific advice.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, announced Dr. Carr’s appointment to a one-year term at the 71st GEF Council on 2 June in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In her remarks, Andersen highlighted STAP’s role at a time when science and the multilateral system face growing pressures, emphasizing that science provides a foundation for cooperation and guides collective action on interconnected environmental challenges.
Andersen noted that Carr’s work is “strongly interdisciplinary, bridging environmental science, development policy, and implementation at multiple scales”. She underscores that his combination of scientific excellence, ability to integrate across disciplines, direct familiarity with STAP’s mandate and credibility across the GEF partnership provide a strong basis for assuming the interim Chair role at this critical juncture.
With a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Syracuse University, Carr’s expertise is in understanding and addressing challenges emerging at the intersection of adaptation, resilience and development. He has worked with USAID, the World Bank, GEF and Clark University and has served as SEI’s US Centre Director since 2024.
Lynsi Burton, SEI US communications officer, [email protected]
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