Associate Professor Luis Mundaca is a Research Fellow at IIIEE. He works in the fields of environmental economics and new institutional economics. His research focuses on low-carbon economy, climate and energy policy evaluation, and firms’ responses to market-based incentives. At present, Luis is engaged in different international scientific initiatives. He is a Lead Author on the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Dr. Mundaca has established contact with Prof. Vinod Sharma at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai, India. This is an advanced research institute established and fully funded by the Reserve Bank of India for carrying out research on development issues from a multi-disciplinary point of view. In October 2013, Luis Mundaca was a keynote speaker at the biannual IGIDR International Symposium on a Sustainable Future, making a presentation entled ”Walking away from a low-carbon economy? Recent and historical trends using a regional decomposition analysis”. More information about the symposium.
He has also been  invited to join the Editorial Board of theIGIDR Journal, titled International Journal for Sustainable Innovations. This journal is often used as one dissemination outlet of the ISSF conferences.

He is also Research Associate at the Centre for Energy and Environmental Economics at University of Seville, Spain. Besides, he is Associate Editor of the Climate and Development Journal.
In September 2008, Luis Mundaca defended his doctoral dissertation titled “Markets for Energy Efficiency – Exploring the new horizons of tradable certificate schemes”. The thesis explores the implications of establishing tradable certificate schemes for improving energy efficiency (so-called ‘Tradable White Certificate’ [TWC] schemes). It does not focus on South Asia. Carrying out different case studies, a set of complementary evaluation methods is applied in conducting ex-ante and ex-post evaluation studies. To analyse the attributes and complexities of TWC schemes, the thesis focuses on several aspects, including (i) the modelling of potential impacts, (ii) the identification and analysis of transaction costs, (iii) the investigation of trading patterns and other flexibilities used to achieve cost-effective compliance, (iv) the level of energy-saving effectiveness under TWC schemes, (v) the use of cost-benefit analysis, and (vi) the application of multi-criteria evaluation. More information, with a link to the thesis in full-text.

Dr. Mundaca was part of the Energy for Sustainable Development team. His research focused on the assessment of various market-based instruments aimed at increasing energy efficiency, analyzing the potential economic, environmental and technological effects of using such instruments in the promotion of a common EU energy efficiency policy. He completed his Masters thesis at IIIEE in 2002 on ”Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and wind energy: What can developing countries learn from the wind power programme in India in order to facilitate small-scale CDM wind energy projects?”. Read the abstract for the thesis.
Luis Mundaca later pursued research on CDM and wind-energy in India. Along with his colleague Håkan Rodhe he published an article on “CDM wind-energy projects: exploring small capacity thresholds and low performances” in the Climate Policy Journal No 4/2005. Read an abstract of the article.

Masters programmes

The Master’s of Science Programme in Environmental Management and Policy is a 120 ECTS credits graduate programme at IIIEE. The MSc programme at IIIEE draws students from all over the World. In September 2016, Hawwa Nashfa from the Maldives graduated from the programme, see photo to the right.
Nashfa was the first Maldivian student from the Maldives, but many Indian students have passed over the years. The degree (magisterexamen in Swedish) is designed to spread knowledge about policies, strategies, instruments, and technologies used to promote preventative approaches to environmental problems in society. The objective of the education is to prepare present and future decision-makers in businesses, government, and other organisations to be able to act in an environmentally proactive way when making decisions about general policy and production issues. This combined online and onsite programme (details below) aims to prepare professionals with expertise in environmental strategies for careers as executives, analysts, decision makers, researchers and consultants. It concentrates on creating preventative environmental solutions for industry and governments, understanding the public and industrial societal systems, and applying appropriate policies and measures to solve integrated environmental problems. More information on the programme.
Hawwa Nashfa has been close to SASNET, being a member of its student organisation SASA, and besides she was awarded a SASNET/SASA travel grant to carry other field work in the Maldives during the summer 2016.
After a few weeks staying at CREST in Kozhikode, she has spent time in Male, the capital city of the Maldives, working on a project entitled ”Establishing a Deposit-Refund System in the Maldives – an ex-ante Evaluation”, The project dealt with the management of polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) plastic waste, a complex issue for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as the Maldives. This is because of the geographical complexity, small landmass, and  lack of infrastructure and resources. Furthermore, changes from subsistence lifestyles to increased consumerism, increased imports, and population growth has escalated the number of PET bottles in the waste stream. While PET is deemed as the most optimal plastic for beverage bottles, and for recyclability, the Maldives lacks vital technical infrastructure to manage the PET waste in an environmentally sound manner. For her thesis, she sought to conduct a research assessing the feasibility of implementing a deposit-refund system in the Maldives.
On 23 September 2016, the daily newspaper Sydsvenskan published a full-page article on Nashfa and her graduation. Read the article (only in Swedish)

In the year 2001/02, the 27 students admitted, represented 21 different nationalities, including two from India. One of them was Abinash K R Yadav, who defended his Masters thesis on ”Environmental Performance Evaluation of Total Heating Systems” on 1 October 2002. Abinash K R Yadav now works as Assistant Coordinator for NetPEM in Nagpur, India.
The graduation ceremony then took place a few days later, on Friday 4 October 2002, an event with a lot of Indian flavour, as the Indian ambassador to Sweden, Ms Chitra Narayanan, was invited to be the chief guest at the graduation ceremony (photo to the right showing the Ambassador along with one of the Indian graduate students. Mr Shisher Kumra is seen to the right). Ms Chitra Narayanan gave a beautiful honorary speech at the occasion. Read the full text of her speech. In the course 2002/2003 another two Indian students participated, namely Ashim Gandhi and Pranshu Singhal.
During the academic year 2014/15 South Asia is represented by two female students from India and one from Sri Lanka. During the coming year, 2015/16, there will be one female student from the Maldives and another two Indian students.

India Programme

In August 1996, the institute initiated, a a part of its emphasis on “Cleaner Production in Eastern Europe and Developing Countries”, a specific programme on India. This program was intended to be developed through broad participation from Indian institutions and professional organisations. The immediate objectives of India Program were to promote the concept of preventive/proactive Environmental management and education in India, and develop a network of various professional institutions engaged in environmental field.
During the years 2002-04 IIIEE was involved in the Joint Environmental Education Programme (JEEP), funded by the EU-India Cross-Cultural Exchange Programme.

Strategic partnership with NetPEM

IIIEE was involved in a strategic partnership with the EU-funded Network for Preventive Environmental Management, NetPEM, based at Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. During the years 2000-04 IIIEE and NetPEM got funding from STINT to evolve the Strategic Partnership between the two institutions in the field of Preventive Environmental Management in India. The partnership included an exchange of professionals.
NetPEM is carrying out research and provides advisory services to industries and other organisations in India, in order to solve the current environmental problems faced by them. It also prepares industry to face future environmental challenges. NetPEM also arranges distance education courses on PEM for working professionals, and regularly brings out publications & updates website on PEM related topics.

Key persons in the South Asia related research previously conducted at IIIEE

For several years, PhD candidate Shisher Kumra worked with projects connected to cleaner production strategies. He completed his Masters thesis at the Institute in 1996 on ”Development of a systematic approach for assessment of cleaner technology in chemical process industries”, and proceeded with a dissertation project called “Cleaner Technology Implementation in SME’s“. The project is uncompleted.
Most of his time at IIIEE, Mr. Kumra devoted to educational efforts. He became cordinator for the implementation of IIIEE’s several post graduate educational programmes in Asia, including a MBA programme in India to offer specialization in “Preventive Environmental Management” (PEM); and a postgraduate Diploma Programme in Environmental Economics – offered through distance mode. He was also engaged in infusing PEM aspects in several MBA and Engineering curricula at Indian institutions, e.g. at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, and at Nagpur University. These activities were instrumental in the creation of the NetPEM (presented above).
Kumra was also involved in the coordination of IDPEM, an International Diploma Programme in Preventive Environmental management jointly offered by the Confederation of Indian Industries, UNEP, IIIEE, and NetPEM. Besides Shisher Kumra was very active in the establishment of SASNET at Lund University in 2000–01, and he was a member SASNET’s first working group. Kumra however left IIIEE in 2003. He is now working for the International Council for Swedish Industries (Näringslivets Internationella Råd, NIR), focused at South Asian activities. He is still based in Lund.

During the years 2001-03 Asst. Professor Lars Hansson and Shisher Kumra were involved in another EU-funded project, involving IIIEE and other European and Indian research institutions (including the Indian Institute of Rural Management, and the organisation Developmental Alternatives India), on creating a Thematic Network on Sustainable Policies to Promote Water Conservation Technologies & Practices in India. The project was called Sustain-water

In connection with the Stockholm +40 – International Conference on Sustainable Living and Innovative Solutions, held in April 2012, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Environmental Education was signed between Swedish and Indian institutions. The agreement concerns the successful Youth Masters Programme on Sustainable Development, developed and run for several years by IIIEE. The programme offers global, free of charge online education for upper-secondary students and their teachers. More information about the Masters programme.
The Indian collaboration partner is the Centre of Environmental Education (CEE). It was established in 1984 as a Centre of Excellence supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Being a national institution with its headquarters in Ahmedabad, CEE has a mandate to promote environmental awareness nationwide.
The MoU was signed by Mr. Kartikeya Sarabhai, Director and Founder of CEE, and Mr. Anders Wijkman who is the Chairman of the Board, Internationella Stiftelsen Young Masters Programme (YMP). Indian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Ashok Sajjanhar attended the signing ceremony (see photo above).
The specific aim of the Indo-Swedish cooperation is to reach high-school students, aged about 16-18 years, with distance education on sustainable development in order to enhance the understanding of sustainability issues and approaches to support social development and sustainable solutions nationally and globally. The scope of the activity covered by this MoU is the facilitation of YMP in India between 2012-2016.