Chantal Naidoo

Presidential Climate Finance Task Team, South Africa

Lead Researcher

Bio

Dr Chantal Naidoo is the founder of Rabia Transitions Initiative, which consolidates a 25+ year career in various finance contexts (tax, debt capital markets, corporate finance, development and climate finance). Chantal works at the nexus of transitions, finance and sustainability transitions, to bring about systemic shifts in the financial system through the actions of policymakers, financial actors and civil society. She served as a regional advisor to the Green Climate Fund for 6.5 years supporting African governments to access climate finance. Her work with the Development Bank of Southern Africa in particular focused on designing green funds, climate finance policies and designing bespoke renewable energy investment programmes. Chantal has several policy and academic published works on national green funds, development finance institutions, climate finance strategies and just transition projects. She has a doctorate from the University of Sussex (thesis on role of financial systems in sustainability transition processes), with masters and undergraduate degrees in accounting, development finance and tax law. Chantal is a research fellow at Sussex University, and a Visiting Researcher at the Grantham Institute of Climate Change and Environment. She is presently seconded to the South African Presidency, where she serves as Lead Researcher to the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team and their mandate to consider the Just Energy Transition Partnership forged at COP26.