Daniel Ortega Pacheco

Daniel has fifteen years of experience in environmental public policy, sustainable finance, bioeconomy, and climate & water advocacy.

His current research aims at contributing to unleash the transformative role that Sustainable Finance can play in Latin-American.

Daniel has extensive contributions regarding integrity in climate finance and in international negotiations in major multilateral environmental agreements. He is currently Co-Chair of the Expert Panel at the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market and has been a member of the United Nations Executive Board for the Clean Development Mechanism, the Global Environmental Facility, the International Renewable Energy Agency.

He served as Minister of Environment and was instrumental to achieve an ambitious outcome on resource mobilization for reducing deforestation as part of the Paris Climate Agreement. He also led the creation of the first hummer-head shark Marine Sanctuary of Galapagos, the new Organic Environmental Code, the National Strategies for Biodiversity & Net Zero Deforestation. He served as Undersecretary-General of the National Secretariat of Political Management in charge of promoting a new model of participatory & inclusive governance.

He is the author of various research on bioeconomy and sustainable finance with publications in international journals and book chapters. He has also worked closely with the International Finance Corporation to launch Ecuador’s first executive training for financial leaders on Sustainability Bonds and is engaged in various capacity building efforts including the Partnership for Agricultural Carbon.

Ortega holds a Ph.D. in public policy and management from the Ohio State University. He graduated with honors from EARTH University with a BA in Agricultural Science and earned an MSc in Agricultural & Environmental Economics from Michigan State University.