Tara Shirvani
Dr. Tara Shirvani (born 8 October 1986) is an Iranian-Austrian expert and author [1] in the field of Climate Finance, the Bio-Economy and Synthetic Biology, which can bring about deep and rapid decarbonization pathways. She is the co-founder of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group [2], alongside Sir David King [3] . Her extensive knowledge in climate finance has earned her accolades such as Forbes 30 under 30 [4], Aviva Women of the Future [5]. Her expertise is frequently sought by international media outlets such as Ted Talk [6] [7], Forbes [8] [9], Financial Times [10]and the BBC [11].
Contents
Early life and education
Tara was born in Vienna in 1986 with Iranian ancestry from Tehran and Isfahan, growing up between Austria and Iran and graduating from Wasagasse BG9 in Vienna [12]. She completed her Bachelor of Science in International Management in 2006 at ESCP Business School (French: École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris). She went on to receive a Masters in Engineering for Sustainable Development from Cambridge University [13]at 21 and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from Oxford University [14]at 24. She is fluent in German, English, French and Farsi.
Career
From 2013 until 2018 Dr. Shirvani worked at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., where she co-led the delivery of the World Bank’s Africa Climate Business Plan [15] a platform for climate action that finances 176 projects totalling $17 billion dollars with the aim to spearhead low-carbon developments [16]. From 2018 to 2021 she was working at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development based in London where she is representing the bank at the G20 Global Infrastructure Connectivity Alliance while leading the dialogue on disruptive technologies and digital transformations [17]. Since then she has pivoted to working in private markets with Autonomy Capital and EQT Partners, with a strong focus on climate finance and investing in disruptive decarbonisation technologies and solutions that can bring about rapid decarbonisation.
Views
Climate change and Innovation
In 2022 she founded the Climate Crisis Advisory Group together with Sir David King former Chief Scientific Advisor for the UK government, to advise policy makers on climate action and climate repair needs [18] [19].
Dr. Shirvani is a strong advocate of third-generation biofuels from sources such as micro- and macroalgae [20] [21] [22]while being highly critical of first-generation biofuels due to the effect on food prices and the subsequent effect on the developing world. She further strongly supports second generation biofuels, however, which are manufactured from inedible biomass such as corn stover, wood chips or straw and not made from food sources [23]. Her academic research focuses on the opportunities provided through synthetic biology and gene editing increasing the productivity of algae to generate more lipids that can be readily processed into green drop-in fuels at quantities which will have a meaningful impact of fossil-fuel dominant transport chains [24]
Shirvani is a vocal advocate for the deployment of disruptive technologies and smart solutions to propel action against climate change impacts particularly in fossil-fuel intensive sectors such as transport, manufacturing and industry on which she has published extensively on [25] [26] [27], [28], [29], [30], [31].In a video published in the Financial Times on 16 September 2019, she criticizes how the mining of cryptocurrencies is having a negative environmental impact on our planet [32]
Synthetic Biology and the Bio-Economy
In 2022 she published [33] [34] [35]her first book in German titled: Plastikfresser und Turbobäume- Wie wir das Klima retten, den Müll aus dem Meer holen und den ganzen Rest auch noch glänzend hinbekommen'[36] [37], which shot up the Bestseller ranks in less than 48hrs and held No1 Bestseller Rank on Amazon for over 4weeks. The book has gained international attention [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] as the first mainstream book on Synthetic Biology and how it is transforming traditional manufacturing paradigms and birthing a Bio Economy that is built on sustainability and powered by biology [52].
Honours and awards
Dr. Tara Shirvani received the Forbes 30 under 30 Award in 2016 [53]. In 2019 she received the Aviva Women of the Future Award [54].
Books published
Tara Shirvani: Plastikfresser und Turbobäume: Wie wir das Klima retten, den Müll aus dem Meer holen und den ganzen Rest auch noch glänzend hinbekommen [55] [56]
