Ben Smith
Director of Consulting Services
Dr Ben Smith is GCAP’s Director of Consulting Services. He has 12 years experience working on adaptation, with a particular focus on climate risk screening and the use and application of climate data for risk assessments. He currently manages the DFID-funded project Increasing the Resilience of Kenya’s Potato sector through Climate Services, and is leading the assessment of barriers to Climate Action as part of the team conducting a Climate Action Gap and Market Assessment for the European Investment Bank. Ben has experience in the development of frameworks and strategies to mainstream climate change adaptation within IFIs, including as technical lead on the development of the Climate Safeguards System for the African Development Bank, and the Climate Risk Assessment system for the European Investment Bank. He was a founding member of the weADAPT adaptation knowledge platform, and remains an editor for the Using Climate Information theme.
He has extensive experience in carrying out climate risk and vulnerability assessments, in particular for Agriculture. This includes climate analyses and adaptation assessments for SIDA country assistance strategies in Africa and Asia, assessment of the vulnerability of IrishAid’s programme to support smallholder agriculture in N. Zambia, and overseeing the assessment of climate risks and opportunities for private sector actors in the agricultural sector in Kenya and S. Africa. A key skill is the use and interpretation of climate projections to support adaptation.
Ben holds a PhD from King's College London looking at the role of river restoration in meeting ecological targets under the EU Water Framework Directive and has particular expertise in adaptation in the Water sector