Rebecca Pearl-Martinez is the Executive Director of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS). She works with faculty engaged in climate and sustainability research across all BU schools and colleges to develop and secure funding for interdisciplinary research projects, advance research translation efforts, and implement projects. Recent topics include energy justice in offshore wind development, funded by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and extreme heat in cities, funded by Wellcome. She serves in advisory roles with Pew’s Transforming Evidence Network, the Commonwealth Climate Coalition, and the MassCEC Scientific Advisory Group.
Prior to joining BU, Rebecca spent close to two decades working on international energy and climate policy in partnership with UN agencies, international organizations, governments, and industry. Her expertise on the social and equity dimensions of energy and climate policy helped guide the institutional approaches of USAID, Sustainable Energy for All, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Oxfam, and others. She co-founded the Global Gender and Climate Alliance at UNDP, the Environment & Gender Index at IUCN, and the climate change initiative of Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO). She started her career with community development initiatives and the United Nations in Nicaragua and Ecuador, and leading the Women’s Major Group process for Rio+10 (World Summit on Sustainable Development).
Pearl-Martinez also served as Research Fellow and Head of the Renewable Equity Project at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Visiting Lecturer on climate change governance at Tufts University. Her Ph.D. research focused on urban energy transition and utility-scale electricity procurement in Chile. In 2016, she received the C3E Advocacy Award (Clean Energy Education & Empowerment Initiative) from the U.S. Department of Energy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University.
Pronouns: she/her
Research Projects
Energy Justice Indicators: Measuring Community Effects of Offshore Wind Energy Development
Source: DOE Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO)
Summary: This project will: 1) work with East Coast communities impacted by offshore wind energy development to collaboratively create measurable indicators for energy justice; 2) qualitatively and quantitatively assess these indicators for port communities including New Bedford, Massachusetts, and New London, Connecticut, over three years; and 3) share results with government, community engagement practitioners, industry professionals, and frontline communities.
Community Adaptations To City Heat (CATCH)
Source: Funded by a Climate Impact Award from Wellcome Foundation
Summary: The CATCH Project is working to 1) Raise visibility of the adverse impacts of extreme temperatures on health; 2) deliver tools for decision makers to quantify extreme heat impacts on health; and 3) create pathways to connect siloed policies to improve heat related exposure and health impacts in frontline communities (frontline= bear the first and worst impacts of climate change).
