Nick Godfrey
Nick is a Senior Adviser for the Grantham Research Institute at LSE, helping to lead its work to support the Coalition for Finance Ministers for Climate Action, a Coalition of over 60 Finance Ministers committed to leading the global climate response and securing a just transition towards a low-carbon, climate resilient economy. Nick also supports the development of the institute’s work on new economic thinking, focused on making the case for transforming the global economic system to deliver the sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future we need in-line with the goals of the Paris Accord and SDGs.
Background
An economist, strategic adviser, and leader of coalitions, Nick specialises in assembling and catalysing new partnerships and teams to transform the key economic systems required to ensure planetary safety and enhance human well-being. Nick has a firm belief in the power of economics to transform lives and in the power of partnerships to drive change at the pace and scale required.
Until late 2021, Nick was the Co-Founder and Director of the Coalition for Urban Transitions, a special initiative of the New Climate Economy, and the leading global initiative of 35+ institutions supporting national governments to secure economic prosperity and tackle the climate crisis by transforming cities. Before this, Nick was a member of the Executive Team of the New Climate Economy, a major international initiative to examine how countries can achieve economic growth while dealing with climate risks led by a Global Commission of 26 former heads of state, finance Ministers, CEOs, and thought leaders, Co-Chaired by Lord Stern. Nick was a co-author of the “Better Growth, Better Climate” report.
Nick has a track record spanning fifteen years across the public, private, and third sectors in setting-up and leading a range of major initiatives in the economic development and climate space, including Guyana’s National Competitiveness Strategy, DFID’s Financial Education Fund, a Cross-Whitehall Review of the UK’s Avoided Deforestation Programme (REDD+), Atkins Future Proofing Cities, and New Climate Economy’s Africa and Cities programmes.
Nick holds a first-class honours in economics from the University of Nottingham, U.K and a Masters in development economics for which he was awarded the Dehn Prize for outstanding academic achievement by the University of Manchester, U.K. In his spare time, Nick loves to scuba dive, play squash, go to gigs, see friends, and hang out with his wife and two young daughters.
Research Interests
- Economics of new models of growth and development
- Role of finance ministries in driving economic transformation
- Success factors and case studies of paradigm shifts and transformative change
Publications prior to joining the Grantham Research Institute
Seizing the Urban Opportunity (2021), Director and Co-Author, Flagship Report of the Coalition for Urban Transitions.
The Economic Case for Greening the Global Recovery through Cities: Seven priorities for national governments (2020). Coalition for Urban Transitions, London and Washington, DC. Gulati, M., Becqué, R., Godfrey, N., Akhmouch, A., Cartwright, A., Eis, J., Huq, S., Jacobs, M., King, R., Rode, P.
Climate Emergency, Urban Opportunity (2019), Director and Co-Author, Flagship Report of the Coalition for Urban Transitions.
Scaling up Financing for Sustainable Urban Infrastructure (2019). Ahmad, E., Colenbrander, S., Godfrey, N., Dowling, D. et al. LSE and Coalition for Urban Transitions
Better Growth, Better Cities: Achieving Uganda’s Development Ambition (2017). Contributing author.
Accelerating Low-Carbon Development in the World’s Cities (2015). Gouldson, A., Colenbrander, S., Godfrey, N., Sudmant, A., Millward-Hopkins, J., Fang, W. and Zhao, X.
Cities and the New Climate Economy: The transformative role of global urban growth (2014). Graham Floater, Philipp Rode, Alexis Robert, Chris Kennedy, Dan Hoornweg, Roxana Slavcheva, Nick Godfrey. Contributing author.
Better Growth, Better Climate: The 2014 New Climate Economy Report. Co-Author