William McFarland

Programme Manager and Researcher, Climate and Environment Programme

Overseas Development Institute

203 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ, UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 8202 / Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399 / Nationality:British
E: / T: @will_mcf

Qualifications

2007 - 2008 / MSc Environmental Technology (specialism in Economics and Policy), Imperial College London. Thesis topics: Commodity trading; tropical forestry; carbon markets
2004 - 2007 / BA Biological Sciences, University of Oxford

Areas of Expertise

  • Green growth, sustainable natural resources and forests
  • Political and economic influences over resource use and management
  • Public-private partnerships for financing and delivering public goods
  • Evaluation, qualitative and quantitative research and analysis techniques,
  • Project and partner management, financial management.

Will is the programme manager for the climate and environment programme (CEP). In this role he overseas internal business processes for the team of over 40 staff, including financial reporting, business planning and human resources.

Will is also an environmental economist, and in his research capacity he works with the green growth team in CEP.ODI is a partner on the New Climate Economy project, and Will currently is co-lead for ODI’s work for NCE on land use, forests and agriculture, looking at compatibility within the agriculture and forest sectors of economic growth and climate action. Many of Will’s current projects focus on shaping private investment – for example subsidies, fiscal policies and other public policy mechanisms for promoting investment in more sustainable production methods, and reducing the impact of key commodities on deforestation.

More broadly, his research interests include the political and economic influences over resource use, and inclusive and green growth. Specific areas he has interest in include: political economy of natural resource protection and transition to sustainable resource use pathways; economic and financial arguments (mainly microeconomic) for resource protection and sustainable use; development of incentives and recognition and reduction of perverse incentives for inequitable and unsustainable resource practice; role of private actors in delivering public goods and how the public sector creates environments to support this; behavioural economics of resource use and issues of governance and coordination.

With a degree in Biology at Oxford, Will went on to study for a MSc in Environmental Technology (major in environmental policy and economics) at Imperial College. He has further professional training in statistical analysis (SPSS) and qualitative research techniques (Association for Qualitative Researcher). Before joining ODI, Will worked in the local government sector, coordinating a wide range of research and community-based 'action-research' programmes addressing sustainable consumption, environmental behaviour change and social marketing. He has experience working across London with diverse communities, SMEs andthe public sector (NHS, universities, local authorities).

Languages

English
French / Mother tongue
Intermediate

Previous posts held:

Project Officer, London Sustainability Exchange
  • Coordinated a range of community-based ‘action research’ programmes addressing sustainable consumption, environmental behaviour change and social marketing, managed a team of employees and interns.
  • Designing evaluation frameworks, monitoring and evaluation of projects, and conducting research.
  • Experience working across London with diverse communities, SMEs andthe local public sector (NHS, universities, local authorities, schools etc).Responsible for managing and reporting on projects funded by organisations includingDefra, London Councils and ERDF. Member of national-level working groups on home water use and the roll-out of ‘smart meters’ and the impact on home energy use.

Selected publications and reports

  • Granoff, I, Eis, J, McFarland, W. and Hoy, C., 2015. Zero poverty, zero emissions: eradicating extreme poverty in the climate crisis.
  • McFarland W., Whitley, S. and Kissinger, K. 2015. Subsidies to commodities that drive deforestation: implications for private climate finance. ODI and UNEP-FI.
  • Watson, C., McFarland, W. and Granoff, I., 2015. Targeting Zero Zero: achieving zero extreme poverty on the path to zero net emissions. Development Progress, available at:
  • McFarland, W and Whitley, S., 2014. Fossil fuel subsidies in developing countries: a review of support to reform processes. DfID EPS PEAKS. Available at:
  • Granoff, I. and McFarland W., 2014. Review of literature on finance and policy interventions that support the environmental dimension of sustainable development. Defra science and research project, DO0201.
  • McFarland, W., 2014. Joining the dots to make a business case for REDD+ in Indonesia. Available at:
  • Watson, C., McFarland, W., Nakhooda, S. and Caravani, A., 2014. Fast start finance for forests: the challenge of maintaining momentum. ODI working paper.
  • Gutierrez, M., McFarland, W., and Fonua, L. 2014. Zero poverty… think again: the impact of climate change on development efforts. ODI working paper.
  • UNEP, 2014. Building natural capital – how REDD+ can support a green economy. UNEP International Resource Panel.
  • McFarland, W., 2013. What comes first, the beefburger or the cow? Four lessons for forests. Available at:
  • Caravani, A., Nakhooda, S., Watson, C. and McFarland, W., 2013. REDD+ finance. Climate finance fundamentals, ODI and Heinrich Boell Foundation.
  • McFarland, W., 2013. The private sector in REDD+ and green economies – from convening and coordinating to pushing and pulling. UN-REDD+ programme. Available at:
  • Watson, C., Brickell, E., and McFarland, W. (2013). Integrating REDD+ in a green economy transition: Challenges and opportunities. Background paper prepared for a symposium on REDD+ in a green economy. Commissioned by UN-REDD and UNEP. ODI, London.
  • McFarland, W., 2013. Three stepping stones towards integrating forests into landscape planning. Overseas Development Institute. Available at:
  • Brickell, E., McFarland. W.and Mwayafu, D., 2012. Unlocking progress on REDD+ through exploring the political economy affecting sector coordination: the case of Uganda. ODI Background Note. ODI, London.
  • McFarland, W., 2012. Can adaptation be a hook for local engagement in REDD+? REDD-net. Available at:
  • McFarland, W., 2012. Synergies between REDD+ and adaptive capacity at the local level: a Ghana case study. REDD-net. Available at:
  • McFarland, W., 2011. Reading between the lines: what the Durban text means for REDD+ in 2012. REDD-net. Available at: