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Tara Shirvani

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Tara Shirvani
Born
Tara Shirvani

(1986-10-08) 8 October 1986 (age 38)
Vienna, Austria
CitizenshipAustria
Education
Known forEngineering biology, Climate Change Mitigation, and Climate Finance
Awards
  • Aviva's Women of the Future Award (2018)
Forbes 30 under 30 (2016)
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisThe role of catalysts and algae in forming a sustainable solution for a global food and fuel crisis (2012)
Doctoral advisorSir David King

Tara Shirvani (born 8 October 1986) is an Austrian biochemist, bio economist and climate finance expert.[1] She is a co-founder of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group.[1][2] She was awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016,[3] Aviva's Women of the Future award in 2018.[4][5] and honoured by World Economic Forum as a Global Shaper.[6][4][7]

Early life and education

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Tara was born in Vienna in 1986 with Iranian ancestry from Tehran and Isfahan, she grew up between Austria and Iran.[1] She completed her school from Wasagasse BG9 in Vienna.[4] She completed her Bachelor of Science in International Management in 2006 at ESCP Business School.[1][8] She went on to receive a master's in engineering for Sustainable Development from Cambridge University and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from Oxford University.[7][9][10]

Career

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In 2013 she started working at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., where she co-led the delivery of the World Bank’s Africa Climate Business Plan,[4][9][11] a platform for climate action that finances 176 projects totaling $17 billion dollars with the aim to galvanize low-carbon developments.[4][12] In 2018 she worked for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development based in London where she led the work on green infrastructure advisory[13][14] later she went on to work in the private sector for investment firms such as Autonomy Capital and EQT.[2] During that time, she has argued that the widespread overuse of ESG terminology in finance has diluted its original purpose, transforming it into a catch-all term that lacks clear, actionable standards for driving meaningful sustainability and corporate accountability.[15]

She became a contributing author for the book Energy, Transport, & the Environment: Addressing the Sustainable Mobility Paradigm, where she said that biofuels can be a viable substitute for fossil fuels, most notably when it is produced in a sustainable manner and from raw materials which is not in direct competition with food or animal feed such as from switchgrass or algae.[16] It is currently being used as a university textbook at the University of Indonesia.[17]

Research

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Tara's research focus is based on Climate Finance, bioeconomy and Decarbonization. Her work on biofuels from microalgae, offers an alternative to traditional fossil-fuel based liquid transport fuels that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but only if the entire production process is optimized.[18] Using Life Cycle Analysis and developing a custom Catalyst Selective Index she found that while algae-based biodiesel could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the current production methods are too energy-intensive to be practical. To improve its viability, she suggested efficient co-product utilization, decarbonizing Scope 1 and 2 emissions sources, recycling wastewater and CO2 from exhaust gases and gene-editing the lipid content of industrial microalgae to result in higher levels of productivity.[19]

In 2023, she authored a book called "Plastic Eaters and Turbo Trees" where her research was based on the application of synthetic biology and the opportunities it provides for climate mitigation and adaptation[20][1][21]

Tara provided specific examples of products that demonstrate the innovative use of bio-engineered materials, such as leather bags made from mycelium mushrooms by Stella McCartney, spider silk protein-based clothing by The North Face, and lab-grown leather seats used by Mercedes.[22][23] Additionally, she has said that synthetic biology has led to advancements in industrial goods, with companies like LanzaTech turning waste CO2 into aviation fuels and textiles.[23] Her other part of the research spoke about turbo trees, which are photosynthesis enhanced trees which grow 50% faster and capture 30% more carbon from the atmosphere as well as bacteria engineered to rapidly decompose plastic waste.[23][24][10][11]

The book was praised by Ursula von der Leyen.[25] and George Church[26]

Books

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  • Shirvani, Tara (2023) Plastic Eaters and Turbo Trees: How to Save the Climate, Remove all the Trash from the Sea, and Master the Rest with Brilliance. ISBN 978-3-99001-656-5.
  • Shirvani Tara (2012). Energy, Transport, & the Environment: Addressing the Sustainable Mobility Paradigm. ISBN 978-1-4471-2716-1.
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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Tara Shirvani - und ihr Weg aus der Klimakrise". News (Zeitschrift) (in German). 2 May 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Tara Shirvani a Global Lead Transition Finance". www.synbiobeta.com. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Erfolg auf Taubenfüssen". Forbes (in German). 14 November 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Fearn, Alison (14 May 2018). "Tara Shirvani | European Bank for Reconstruction & Development | Rising Star Awards". We Are The City Rising Star Awards. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Women of the Future Award". University College Oxford. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Women of the Future Awards: Recognising your inspirational finalists". Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Forbes 30 under 30". University College Oxford. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Tara Shirvani, Senior Advisor - Sustainability & ESG EQT Group". Medientage Wien (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  9. ^ a b "What Women Say They Need to Help Them Achieve Their Goals - The New York Times". web.archive.org. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Baumeisterin der Biologie". Red bull. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b STRAUSS, ALIX (3 September 2017). "What Women Say They Need to Help Them Achieve Their Goals". New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Accelerating Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Development: Africa Climate Business Plan – Third Implementation Progress Report and Forward Look". World Bank. 2018. doi:10.1596/30932. hdl:10986/30932.
  13. ^ Caballero.lv. "Digital Lead for Disruptive Technologies". 5G TECHRITORY. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste". Forbes (in German). 13 July 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  15. ^ "How 'ESG' came to mean everything and nothing". BBC. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  16. ^ Inderwildi, Oliver; King, David Anthony; King, Sir David (4 March 2012). Energy, Transport, & the Environment: Addressing the Sustainable Mobility Paradigm. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4471-2716-1.
  17. ^ Inderwildi, Oliver (2012). "Energy, transport, & the environment : addressing the sustainable mobility paradigm". University of Indonesia Central Library. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  18. ^ Shirvani, Tara (2012). The role of catalysts and algae in forming a sustainable solution for a global food and fuel crisis (PhD thesis). Oxford University, UK.
  19. ^ Shirvani, Tara (2011). "Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas analysis for algae-derived biodiesel". Energy & Environmental Science. 4 (10): 3773. doi:10.1039/C1EE01791H.
  20. ^ Winiwarter, Conny (28 April 2023). ""Plastikfresser werden unser Leben retten"". Kronen Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  21. ^ Auer, Von Matthias (23 April 2023). "Plastikfresser und Turbobäume: Klimaschutz aus dem Genlabor". Die Presse (in German). Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Biologin: Wie umweltfreundliche Mode im Labor entsteht". FAZ.NET (in German). 18 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023.
  23. ^ a b c Shirvani, Tara (22 April 2023). Plastikfresser und Turbobäume: Wie wir das Klima retten, den Müll aus dem Meer holen und den ganzen Rest auch noch glänzend hinbekommen (in German). edition a. ISBN 978-3-99001-656-5.
  24. ^ "Photosynthesis Enhanced Trees Grow Faster and Capture More Carbon". www.livingcarbon.com. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  25. ^ von der Leyen, Ursula. Tara Shirvani Praised by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
  26. ^ Tara Shirvani. Plastic Eaters and Turbo Trees, Sample Book. p. 18.
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