Abhinand Krishnashankar
Senior Analyst, Economics and Policy
Work
Areas of expertise:
Air Quality, Clean Transportation, Climate and Clean Air Policy Advocacy, International Development
Description
Abhinand is a senior economics and policy analyst at Environmental Defense Fund with a focus on strengthening the EDF Global Clean Air Initiative’s mission to bring the benefits of clean air to 1 billion people by 2030. He works with atmospheric scientists, health scientists, and urban planners to design clean air solutions in Global South cities and measures their resultant climate, health, and economic co-benefits. In addition, he leads techno-economic assessments and regulatory impact analysis for EDF's Safer Chemicals initiative to evaluate the role of industrial technology and policy developments in reducing the risks from toxic chemicals to health and well-being. Abhinand also leads an internal working group that seeks to embed a stakeholder impact lens to economic and environmental policy work at EDF.
Background
Prior to joining EDF, Abhinand worked as a senior air quality research analyst at the World Resources Institute, where he led a programmatic workstream focused on furthering an integrated approach to tackling climate and air pollutant emissions in Global South cities, notably in India, Indonesia, and Kenya. As part of this work, he produced trainings for government officials on tools available for integrated planning and also led the procurement of state-of-the-art equipment to monitor critical concentrations of short-lived climate pollutants and air pollutants in these cities.
Education
Master of Urban Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2021
Master of Arts in Development Studies (Economics), Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, 2019