Dr. Maria Fernanda Ruiz

Dr. Maria Fernanda Ruiz is a globally recognized expert in environmental economics and sustainable development policy. With over 20 years of international experience across academia, multilateral organizations, and advisory roles to governments, Dr. Ruiz has shaped influential frameworks for sustainable economic growth and climate resilience across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from the University of Cambridge and began her career as a senior researcher at the Inter-American Development Bank. Her work focused on the socio-economic valuation of ecosystem services and the design of policy instruments for carbon pricing. A passionate advocate for integrating environmental costs into national accounting systems, she has developed models now adopted by multiple national governments to align GDP metrics with environmental sustainability.

Dr. Ruiz later served as Lead Sustainability Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where she led multi-country initiatives aimed at aligning public investment portfolios with climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. She has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers and frequently advises institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, and OECD on climate financing, green infrastructure, and just transitions.

Her recent work centers on building resilient economic systems in climate-vulnerable nations by mainstreaming climate risk assessments into fiscal and macroeconomic planning. With her ability to translate complex technical insights into actionable policy, Dr. Ruiz continues to shape global thought leadership at the intersection of economics, the environment, and social equity.