Climate Impact on Water and Sanitation Utilities

Alfred Grünwaldt serves as Lead Climate Change Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, where he acts as climate focal point for the Infrastructure Department. After earning his Mechanical Engineering degree from Universidad del Norte, Master's in Computational Mechanics from Universität Stuttgart, and Master's in Environmental Management from Johns Hopkins University, he has built over 15 years of expertise in climate adaptation and infrastructure sustainability. His leadership includes chairing the MDB Working Group on Climate Change Adaptation Finance (2018-2020) and directing over 50 operations contributing to IDB Group's climate finance objectives. Through his focus on water resources and climate challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, he has authored numerous technical publications on adaptation, climate resilience, and GHG mitigation, particularly in water, transport, and energy sectors

Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank

Martín Kerres has over twelve years of experience working on climate change and water-related issues. Since late 2022, he has been advising on Circular Economy with a focus on climate, organic waste, and textiles as part of the Go Circular program at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Previously, he provided guidance to water and sanitation companies in emerging economies regarding decarbonization and climate risk management under the WaCCliM program at GIZ. Before joining GIZ in 2015, Martín focused on integrating climate risk analysis into operations at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as an Associate Program Officer. He also advised the German development bank KfW on incorporating climate change adaptation into their water sector portfolio. Martín holds a Master of Science in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) from the Technical University of Cologne and the University of Jordan. His work emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices in water management and the implementation of circular economy principles to enhance resilience against climate impacts.