Board of Directors
In keeping with the educational approach as the central driver of the philanthropic project, MERI Foundation was created in 2012 to promote and carry out scientific research and environmental education the service of conservation.
Marcelo Mena
Director
Biochemical engineer with a PhD in environmental engineering, whose career has focused on air quality and climate policy.
During his PhD, he worked for NASA science missions in the US, Mexico and Asia, where he specialized in emission inventories and air quality prediction.
As an activist, he co-founded the University of Iowa’s Energy Conservation Committee, which pushed for the creation of the Office of Sustainability.
As a professor in Chile, he focused on air quality and climate change issues, particularly considering the evaluation of externalities.
As deputy minister, he led the climate negotiations from COP20 to COP23, designed Chile’s ambitious air quality management strategy and South America’s first pollution taxes for the transport and industrial sectors.
As co-chair of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, he supported the development of integrated climate and air quality policies and their recognition by the IPCC, along with the funding of flagship projects on agricultural burning controls, waste management, brick kilns, wood stoves, diesel emissions, etc.
As the Minister of the Environment during the second administration of Michelle Bachelet, he led the creation of marine and national parks. During his term, he spearheaded a massive national park creation effort covering the size of Switzerland, and a creation of 1.4 million km2 of marine protection. He also led the Escazú Agreement together with Costa Rica, and the ban of plastic bags in Chilean cities.
At the World Bank, he led the team that created the first Ministerial Climate Finance Coalition launched at the Spring Meetings, including the Helsinki Principles, the creation of the Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience for the World Bank.
He currently leads research teams on the link between climate change and migration; the crossroads of fossil fuel dependent countries; mitigation options for the maritime sector; a rating system for resilience; a methodology to assess the Paris Alignment for World Bank operations; and the development of long-term mitigation tools for client countries, called 2050 pathways. He is also director of the Climate Action Center of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.