Francesse Joy Cordon-Navarro
Lead, Carbon Pricing and Philippines Energy Transition
Francesse leads IISD’s initiatives on carbon pricing in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, and Viet Nam) and electric vehicles and transport electrification in the Philippines. She is an international development lawyer with more than 14 years of expertise in law and policy reform, project management, trust fund oversight, knowledge dissemination, and capacity building with a focus on environment, energy transition, and climate finance across Asia and the Pacific. She is recognized for fostering robust partnerships with government agencies, multilateral institutions, non-profit organizations, civil society, academia, and private sector stakeholders to promote inclusive and effective environmental governance.
Before joining IISD, Francesse served as the Asian Development Bank’s Senior Fund Coordinator for the Energy Transition Mechanism Partnership Trust Fund and as a research consultant for the Carbon Market Program. She was also the focal point for the establishment of the Climate Action Catalyst Fund and a senior legal and policy reform specialist for the Law and Policy Reform Program. In past roles, Francesse has worked for the Philippines House of Representatives, the International Development Law Organization, the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, and the University of the Philippines Law Center. Most recently, she has been at the forefront of the codesign and adoption of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Natural Capital Roadmap and the advancement of a multistakeholder and cross-sectoral approach to integrating natural capital considerations in ASEAN decision-making processes.
Francesse has professional qualifications in law, business, economics, and finance. She holds a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Cambridge, a Juris Doctor and a bachelor’s degree in business economics from the University of the Philippines, and a Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner Certificate from the Asia Pacific Financial Services Association.