Abdulmutalib Yussuff is Climate Technology and Innovation System Advisor at UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre and Senior Associate at E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism).
He holds BEng and MSc degrees in Chemical Engineering from Federal Universities in Nigeria, and MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems from The University of Edinburgh with backgrounds across climate change think-tanks, government, and private sectors. He has participated in Climate-KIC Summer school at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Grantham Institute for Climate Change with in-country experience engaging with stakeholders across Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Nigeria, and Benin Republic.
He has worked as a Research Fellow on Energy Systems at Project Drawdown, USA where he focused on assessing climate technologies – their emissions reduction impacts, and implementation cost. Before joining the UNEP-CCC, he led the UK-PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) programme in Nigeria funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the UK Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to mobilize UK International Climate Finance fund for the implementation of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Energy Transition Plan and developed strategy for the programme. In this role, he led project origination and contributed to cross-sectoral projects including the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for power generation expansion planning, strengthening of Nigeria’s Sustainable Banking Principles in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NDC Partnership, scoping support for National Electric Vehicle Development Plan, waterways transport in Lagos megacity, unlocking investment for renewable energy embedded generation project implemented by Rocky Mountain Institute, and nature-based solutions to climate change including mangrove restoration and social protection for fisheries and forestry dependent coastal communities of Nigeria implemented by UN FAO, irrigation-free indigenous trees restoration for alternative livelihood, strengthening of capacity towards forest-positive commodity export from Nigeria using satellite imagery platform that disaggregates commodity crops from forest trees, and transfer of sustainable rice intensification methods to farmers.
At UNEP-CCC, he is participating in the implementation of UNEP/GEF Technology Needs Assessment in developing countries, the Accelerating Climate Technology Transition (ACTT) project aimed at supporting countries in accelerating investments and strengthening markets for priority climate technologies, the EU Horizon 2020-funded SESA (Smart Energy Solution for Africa). He is keen to work on NDC and energy transition implementations in emerging and developing economies, and to contribute to resource mobilization and technology transfer for a just climate action.
