Dr. Karen Hetz

Executive Advisor on Climate Resilience | Adaptation Strategy and Innovation

For more than 15 years, Dr Karen Hetz has worked at the forefront of international climate adaptation. She advises governments, UN organisations, development agencies, and development banks, translating climate risk information into effective policies and investment-ready action. At KfW Development Bank, Karen led the development of a EUR 2 billion portfolio of transformative and innovative climate resilience projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Amongst others, she is nominated by Germany as an expert on climate adaptation for the UNFCCC review process of the climate reporting of Parties, and she is a selected member of the UNDRR Santiago Network, which strengthens technical cooperation to reduce climate-related loss and damage worldwide. Her PhD examined climate adaptation solutions in complex systems. Since then, Karen has led several advisory and complex development projects worldwide, including in fragile contexts and some of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions.

Companies working with Karen gain a clear path to embedding climate adaptation into central strategic and operational decisions. At the heart of her advisory work lies a simple but often overlooked insight: a company's exposure to climate risk is shaped not only by climate hazards, but also by how the company operates, invests and makes decisions. Recognising and adjusting these internal levers is key to reducing the climate risks to which a company is exposed today and in the future, and to building a strong basis for sustainable economic success in a changing climate.

Karen advises C-level executives and boards on translating climate science into robust, forward-looking business decisions, connecting regulatory foresight, risk management and long-term value creation.

She currently lives in Brussels, at the heart of Europe's development and policy landscape. https://karenhetz.com