People and partners

Barbara is the lead author of CPI’s Global Landscape of Climate Finance, which has set the benchmark for climate finance tracking. She also directs the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance, a public–private incubator developing innovative climate finance instruments for renewable energy, urban infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and land-use projects in emerging markets. Instruments developed by the Lab have mobilised more than USD 3.5 billion for sustainable development.

Barbara founded and directs the San Giorgio Group, which brings together climate finance leaders to address critical issues requiring collective action to accelerate the transition to low-emission economies. She is Professor in Practice for Sustainable Finance at the University of London SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance, Program Director of the Climate Change and Energy Program at the Australian National University, and serves on numerous international advisory bodies, including the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance and the UNFCCC’s Race to Zero and Race to Resilience Finance Sector Expert Group.

She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Graz and was a Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In 2025, Martin founded Climate Action Investors, a capital formation and advisory firm, and currently leads the establishment of the Hamburg Sustainability Platform on behalf of governments and large-scale investors. Prior to this, he was Managing Director at Allianz Global Investors, where he headed the Investment Strategy Team and served as Lead Portfolio Manager for Impact Investments.
Martin has over 17 years of experience structuring, managing, and investing in private equity and impact investment vehicles across developed and developing markets, including blended and non-blended finance structures. He has structured, invested in, and managed funds such as the Emerging Market Climate Action Fund, AfricaGrow, and the Allianz Impact Investment Fund.

Martin holds a Master’s degree with merit in International Management from the University of Exeter and a Master’s degree with merit in Business Administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) from the University of Mannheim. He is an external PhD candidate in Environmental Management and Accounting at the Technical University of Dresden.

Prior to establishing the African Climate Foundation, Saliem served for 11 years as Head of the Policy & Futures Unit at WWF South Africa. He has also been a Senior Lecturer in Public Administration and Planning and Associate Director of the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy at Stellenbosch University. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) South Africa for eight years.
Saliem has served on several boards and is a prolific writer, contributing regularly to leading publications on climate, development, and sustainability.

Saliem holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Environmental Economics from Wye College, University of London, an Honours degree in Molecular Biology from the University of the Witwatersrand (with a BSc in Biological Sciences, majoring in Genetics), and completed an Executive Leadership and Management course in Organizational Leadership at Harvard University.

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.

Prior to founding CFM, Andrew was CEO of African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a joint venture between Macquarie and Old Mutual, and served as Chairman of Macquarie Africa. He has extensive experience in the African infrastructure sector and has been involved in the structuring, fundraising, and deployment of five unlisted infrastructure fund vehicles across the continent.

Andrew has a Bacehlor of Sciene Civil Engineering degree from the University of Natal in South Africa, and a MBA -Engineering Management and Finance degree from the City University in London, UK.

Nidhi works closely with the Government of India on India’s net-zero pathway, contributes to the Energy Modelling Forum, supports the Green Hydrogen Mission, and informs policies such as Technology Needs Assessments. Her work with sub-national governments focuses on aligning net-zero strategies, developing EV, green hydrogen, and renewable energy policies, and integrating climate action into development planning. She also partners with city governments on Healthy Air Zones to develop finance-ready projects.
Prior to joining Shakti, Nidhi served as a Technical Expert at GIZ, where she supported state governments in developing State Action Plans on Climate Change and preparing proposals to access climate finance.

Nidhi holds an M.Tech in Energy and Environment Management degree from IIT Delhi and a B. Tech degree in Environment from IP University.

Seleha leads E3G’s programme on leveraging public financial institutions to drive systemic change and accelerate the transition to a climate-safe future. She works closely with governments, multilateral development banks, and other financial institutions to mobilise large-scale climate finance and strengthen the effectiveness of public investment.

With over 30 years of experience across climate finance, sustainable development and international cooperation, Seleha has built strong cross-sector partnerships and driven innovative financing approaches. Her work has ranged from pioneering participatory community development initiatives, to advancing programmatic carbon finance in developing countries, to mobilising more than USD 1 billion in public and private finance for renewable energy projects in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Most recently, she led the development of a comprehensive climate action plan for a multilateral development bank, integrating mitigation, adaptation, resilience, biodiversity, and sustainable development priorities into a holistic framework for systemic transformation.

Seleha holds an MSc in Environmental Technology (Energy Policy) from Imperial College London and a BA in Economics with Development Studies from the University of Sussex.

Prior to joining the GCF, Kavita was Programme Director for Energy Transition in Asia at the European Climate Foundation, where she helped establish the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility and served as Interim Director of the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership. She has over 15 years of leadership experience across start-ups, multinational corporations, and the public sector, including nearly a decade at USAID in programme management roles related to climate impact.

Kavita holds an MBA from Rutgers Business School, an honours degree in Chemical Engineering, and graduate qualifications in energy systems from leading engineering institutions in India.

Pablo oversees initiatives that help countries advance their climate goals by facilitating access to analysis, tools, expertise, financing, and partnerships. Prior to joining the NDC Partnership, he served as Advisor to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, supporting Colombia’s accession to the OECD and coordinating national and international climate commitments.
In 2013, Pablo was appointed Deputy Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, responsible for environmental and climate policy, including water management, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.

He is a chemical engineer from the National University of Colombia and holds a PhD from Tulane University.