Gaëtan Coatanroch is our Principal Consultant on green economy. In his work, he explores the connection between our economic system and the environment. 

Green light for transition

According to the WHO, between 2030 and 2050, the climate crisis could cause 250 000 additional deaths from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone. To avoid this, we need to take meaningful action now. This is a tall order, though. Addressing climate change requires a complete overhaul of the global economy. It involves rethinking the ways we produce and consume.

Even if we act now, some effects of climate change are already unavoidable. “If we were to stop greenhouse gas emissions today, the climate would continue to change for years”, Gaëtan says. That is why our economies and businesses should not only become more sustainable and reduce their impacts on our environment, they should also adapt to a changing world.  

With its Green Deal, the European Commission supports a holistic and inclusive economic transition. With its objective is to achieve European climate neutrality by 2050, it hopes to turn environmental challenges into opportunities and make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent. As the roadmap for this ambitious endeavour is becoming clearer, it reveals the significant efforts institutions and decision-makers have ahead of them.

Our expertise

Through our expertise on green technologies and economic principles, Technopolis Group hopes to play a role in the European Union’s ambitious climate plans. We support policymakers at the European, national and local levels by supporting sound policy design, but also by implementing new policies and by evaluating existing schemes to further improve their impact.

Because the green transition requires deep change across sectors, boundaries and governance levels, we are constantly finetuning our approaches to match our clients’ needs. Some of our current projects include:

• supporting the design of a strategic framework for climate change and green growth for a multilateral development bank
• revising EU laws to set greenhouse gas emissions targets for various sectors,
• evaluating policies and programmes supporting the transition
• identifying investment gaps in financial instruments to support the green transition
• supporting more than 100 cities in their twin green and digital transition within EU’s Intelligent City Challenge

All in it

The transition should be a global and collaborative effort. Gaëtan is particularly proud of a project he is doing for Réunion Island, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean. “We are currently identifying best practices and local systems,” he says. “Afterwards, we will get all stakeholders around the table – or on a Zoom call – to discuss which solutions will allow us to design an action plan for a zero-carbon economy taking into account the local context and culture”. It is projects like this one that enable policymakers to make more informed decisions about their local transition strategy.

Climate change is a hotly debated topic. The past years in particular have seen young people and grassroots organisations take to the streets to voice their discontent, while small island nations in particular are ringing the alarm about the climate impacts they are already facing. It is clear that coherent climate policy is urgent. “The shift towards sustainability is not always straightforward, though”, Gaëtan says, “we have to avoid greenwashing and well-intended but eventually counterproductive measures”. That is why Technopolis Group is glad to have experts like Gaëtan and his team on staff. Their insights and experience make sure our work on green economy is evidence-based and impactful.

Technopolis Group shares expertise with policymakers that enables them to make more informed decisions about their local transition strategy.

Gaëtan Coatanroch, prinicpal consultant on green economy

Find out more about our work on green economy.