Christophe Nuttall Executive Director at R20 Regions of Climate Action

Born in 1961, Christophe Nuttall obtained his degree in Ecological Engineering from the University of Rouen in 1987, then his PhD in Development Geography from the University of Rouen - Paris Sorbonne in 1989.

After starting his career as a Remote Sensing Engineer at CNES (Space Study National Centre, Toulouse), he joined the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991 as a project manager for the setting up of the Sahel and Sahara Observatory A President Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl’s initiative.

In 1993, he was recruited by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as a Programme Coordinator where he began a long career of establishing links between the United Nations system and local authorities. He opened, in the framework of public-private partnerships, several training centres for local actors (CIFAL) across several continents (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe). 

In 2005, he was appointed Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to coordinate the various cooperation actions between local authorities and the United Nations system. He launched, among others, the territorial approach to climate change and published a book at the COP 15 of the United Nations Climate Change Convention in Copenhagen in 2009, demonstrating the key role of local and regional authorities in the fight against climate change, thanks to which at the COP 16 in Cancun in 2010, the National Parties to UNFCCC officially recognised the role of sub-national governments.

In 2011, Christophe Nuttall, with the support of Governor Schwarzenegger of the State of California and the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon, created the R20 Foundation: Regions of Climate Action, which he took over in January 2012. R20 promotes the identification, development, financing and deployment of low greenhouse gas emitting and renewable energy producing infrastructure (waste management, decentralised renewable energy, energy efficiency) in developing countries. With several successful innovative projects in Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, Brazil, China and Fiji, it is launching in 2018 the concept of a blended finance investment fund, certified by the MDGs and the Paris Agreement, dedicated to 'intermediate infrastructure' (middle class 5 - USD 50 million) by local authorities in PPP. 

Christophe Nuttall has developed a consortium (Pegasus Capital, IUCN, Gold standard, BNP Paribas and R20)  which in November 2021, unable the creation of blended finance vehicle: the  sub-national climate fund SnCF, up to USD 750m, with the support of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) up to USD 150m with a TA fund of 28 M$USD

In 2021, SCF  is in the process of being rolled out regionally (SnCF MED, SnCF Africa, SnCF Caribbean, SnCF LATAM, SnCF ASEAN) with several international organisations (Union for the Mediterranean, ASEAN, African Union, etc.) in order to mobilise and deploy more than USD 5 billion by 2025.