Aaron Best

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Aaron Best

Masters in Public Administration

Coordinator Data Analysis
Senior Fellow

Team
Topics

Aaron Best is a Senior Fellow and economist at Ecologic Institute who focuses on the interface of economic issues with environmental policy. An experienced project leader, he also coordinates Ecologic Institute's data-analysis team and has decades of experience in sustainability indicators, the analysis of large datasets as well as the visual communication of complex concepts.

His project portfolio includes climate policy, sustainable development indicators, circular economy, impact assessments, policy evaluations, cost-benefit analysis, and economic analyses of environmental policies. He leads the team at Ecologic Institute that supports Eurostat's annual monitoring of progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2017-2019, he led the data analysis and visualization work for a comprehensive review of environmental governance in EU Member States.

In addition to his research and writing, he is co-host of the podcast series "Green Deal – Big Deal?", which examines the many facets of the European Green Deal. Aaron Best headed the Horizon 2020 project "Measuring the IMPACTS of the Transition to the CIRCULAR Economy" (CIRCULAR IMPACTS), which further developed the evidence base on the EU transition to a more circular economy. He recently led two projects supporting the EU monitoring of air pollution impacts on European ecosystems. He led the project team organizing the high-level conference "Measuring Progress, True Wealth, and the Well-being of Nations" (Beyond GDP). He has managed reviews of several sustainability indicators, including bioeconomy monitoring in Germany and has contributed to several climate-related projects for both EU and German institutions. Aaron Best was previously manager of the Transatlantic Program, overseeing several of Ecologic Institute's transatlantic initiatives.

From 2006 to 2010, Aaron Best worked as a Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute. From 2010 to 2016, during his time away from the institute, he was Deputy Director at Climate-KIC, a major EU initiative to support climate-related innovation by start-ups, firms and academic institutions across Europe. During this time, he remained connected to the institute as a Senior Associate. Since 2017, he is engaged full time at Ecologic Institute.

Prior to his work at Ecologic Institute, Aaron Best worked as a research economist at ECONorthwest, a leading economic consultancy in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. He also gained significant business experience as a business development manager and program manager for Amazon.com in both the United States and England. In 2005/6 Aaron Best spent 10 months living and working in Germany as a Robert Bosch Fellow. The Robert Bosch Fellowship is an intensive program that provides future American leaders with a detailed look at the present-day institutions, politics and cultures of Germany and the European Union.

 

Aaron Best holds a Master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA and a Bachelor's degree (economics and environmental policy) from The Evergreen State College, an interdisciplinary liberal arts school near Seattle.

Aaron Best is an American citizen, speaks fluent German and has a good knowledge of Spanish. As a creative project, he pursues fine-art photography: http://aaronbestphotographs.com.

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Recent content by Aaron Best

Publication:Podcast
 
In this 5th episode of CLIMATE ON AIR, we discuss with climate policy integration experts Kati Kulovesi (University of Eastern Finland) and Sebastian Oberthür (Vrije Universiteit Brussels) about the essential role of climate policy integration on the path to the EU's climate neutrality transition. We delve deeper into the EU's legal and governance aspects that are necessary for successful climate policy integration, highlighting the significant role of the European Climate Law in setting a legally binding climate neutrality target, alongside the EU Governance Regulation.

Integrating for Impact: Coordination and Cohesion in EU Climate Policy

Fifth episode of the podcast "CLIMATE ON AIR – Discussing the future of EU climate policy"

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Publication:Podcast
 
In this episode of "Green Deal – Big Deal?", we tackle the complex world of natural resources, a topic that underpins many aspects of Europe's ambition for a green future. In conversation with guests Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director-General of European Commission’s DG Environment, and Janez Potočnik, Co-chair of the International Resources Panel, hosts Ewa Iwaszuk and Aaron Best discuss how the use of natural resources is closely linked to the climate and biodiversity crises, highlighting the global nature of resource use and its impacts.

Material World: Using resources sustainably in a time of planetary crises

Fourteenth episode of the podcast "Green Deal – Big Deal?"

Year

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Publication:Podcast
 
In this 4th episode, together with investment and finance experts Julie Evain (I4CE) and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin (I4CE), we unpack the regulatory framework for mobilizing green investments that are needed for a climate-neutral future. Can current EU financial policies provide predictability to economic actors? Which policies do we need to ensure long-term vision toward climate neutrality? We also explore the role of the banking sector and the use of banks' transition plans to ensure banks consider climate-related risks and direct investments properly.

Regulatory Leverage: How Can the EU Foster a Green Investment Shift?

Fourth episode of the podcast "CLIMATE ON AIR – Discussing the future of EU climate policy"

Year

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Event:Digital Event
 
plastic
According to the European Commission, almost 26 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated annually in the EU. And since we learned how to produce plastic, humans have manufactured more than 8.3 billion tonnes of it – most of which ended up as a waste product somewhere on the planet. This process leads to plastic waste entering the landscape, rivers, beaches, and eventually ocean. So how can we possibly address a problem of this size?

From Packaging to Microplastics: Unwrapping EU and international plastics policy


online

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Event:Digital Event
 
Utility-scale solar photovoltaics and onshore wind are now the cheapest sources of new power in most countries, and according to a 2022 report by the International Energy Agency, renewables will account for over 90% of global electricity expansion over the next five years. To support the rapid change to renewables, dramatic changes in energy infrastructure such as grids are also needed.

Europe's Energy Transition – Rolling out renewables and infrastructure


online

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Publication:Case Study
 
Cover of the country briefing paper Germany "Who took the burden of the energy crisis?
Households across Germany felt the weight of 2022's energy crisis, grappling with a dramatic increase in energy prices. Overall energy costs in Germany surged by 31% in 2022 compared to the previous year. To combat the adverse impacts of the 2022 energy crisis, Germany passed three major relief packages in 2022. This country briefing paper describes Germany’s policy response to the energy crisis of 2022 and provides a microsimulation-based summary of the distributional effects of energy price shocks on German households.

Who Took the Burden of the Energy Crisis?

Country briefing paper: Germany

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