David O'Connor

Sustainable Economist

Bio

David O’Connor works in the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Delivery Team. He is working with colleagues to assess needs of both developed and developing countries as they prepare to implement this universal and potentially transformative agenda. He is providing conceptual guidance to a set of country and cross-cutting case studies of early SDG implementation efforts in developed countries, focusing on how they are addressing the universality of the agenda. In a next phase, the focus will shift more towards emerging and developing economies’ SDG readiness. The team aims to draw upon expertise located across the Institute to support SDG implementation. One key aspect will be the coordination at country level of SDG implementation with climate action plans reflecting countries’ intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) codified in the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

David also serves as the Permanent Observer of IUCN to the United Nations. Before joining WRI, he led the Policy and Analysis Branch of the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development and, in that capacity, headed the team which guided analytically the development of the sustainable development goals and supported their negotiation and that of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He also guided the preparations of the first two editions of the Global Sustainable Development Report. Prior to joining the UN, David worked for many years at the OECD Development Centre in Paris, doing studies on the co-benefits of climate policy in China, India and other developing countries. He also authored an OECD study on Managing the Environment with Rapid Industrialization: Lessons from the East Asian Experience, as well as numerous shorter studies on financing sustainable development, policy and entrepreneurial responses to the Montreal Protocol, and economic instruments for environmental policy in Asia.

David received his bachelor’s degree (Summa) from Yale, his master of science degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his doctorate from University College London in environmental economics and policy.

Blog Posts

Tackling Climate Change is Part of Many Countries’ Sustainable Development Plans
by David O'Connor and Hana Biru - July 12, 2017
A new WRI examination of 44 countries' national reviews of progress on the SDGs shows that most recognize the powerful links between building sustainable development and tackling climate change.

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David O'Connor

Tackling Climate Change is Part of Many Countries’ Sustainable Development Plans

Universality, Integration, and Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development: Early SDG Implementation in Selected OECD Countries

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Tackling Climate Change is Part of Many Countries’ Sustainable Development Plans

Universality, Integration, and Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development: Early SDG Implementation in Selected OECD Countries

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