Marvin Lagonera

C40 City Adviser for Quezon City, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
MSc Sustainable Urban Development student, University of Oxford
Founder & Executive Director, Behaviorale PH
Address: Quezon City, Philippines
E-mail: marvinlagonera@gmail.com; mlagonera@c40.org;
mlagonera@ateneo.edu; marvin.lagonera@kellogg.ox.ac.uk;
mlagonera@behaviorale.com
Sex: Male | Date of birth: 28/03/1993 | Nationality: Filipino

Personal Career Mission Statement

To make an impact on people’s lives and the planet by contributing to sustainable urban
development and climate action, and by taking on mentorship roles to students and emerging local
champions in the field of sustainability.

Summary of Experience

A climate emergency activist and urbanist, Marvin has been learning about and working with
Southeast Asian cities at the forefront of transformative climate action. At present, he is affiliated with
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, serving as City Adviser for Quezon City, Philippines. In this
role, he manages the delivery of the city’s Climate Action Planning programme ahead of Deadline
2020, C40’s flagship global program. He is concurrently reading a Master of Science (MSc) in
Sustainable Urban Development part-time at University of Oxford.

Before that he was part of ICLEI Southeast Asia, where he managed a portfolio of urban projects on
low carbon development, sustainable energy and urban research. He served as ICLEI Country
Liaison Officer (PHL) for the “Ambitious City Promises”, an international project supporting nine large
cities in Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam to establish ambitious climate targets and actions.

He is also the founder and executive director of Behaviorale, a mission-driven think-and-do tank
harnessing breakthroughs in behavioral economics to serve communities in the global south, improve
people's lives, and protect the planet.

Marvin holds a Master's degree in Political Science major in Global Politics and Bachelor’s degrees
in Economics-Honors and Political Science from Ateneo de Manila University, and served as lecturer
at the Department of Economics at Ateneo de Manila University. He was a recipient of the Erasmus
Mundus Master’s Mobility with Asia at the University of Warsaw (Poland) and the Joint Master’s
Research Mobility of the ASEAN University Network and Kyoto University Graduate School of Energy
Sciences (Japan).

Relevant Technical Skills Countries with experience organizing

o Professional designation as ‘Urban
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Specialist’ by
World Bank’s City Climate Planner (CCP)
program
o C40 City Inventory Reporting and
Information System (CIRIS) and ICLEI
ClearPath software tools for completing
city-wide GHG Inventory
o Conducting hazard vulnerability analysis
(HVA) and risk assessment for cities
o C40 Pathways future emisisons scenario
modeling tool
o Statistical and econometric analysis
Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam,
Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan,
Germany, Poland
Worked/collaborated with
Philippines: Quezon City, Pasig, Marikina,
Parañaque, Puerto Princesa, Baguio,
Zamboanga City; Malaysia: Melaka City;
Pakistan: Karachi Metropolitan Corporation;
Japan: Kyoto City; South Korea: Seoul
Key milestones
o Developing ‘National Climate Change
Mitigation Framework Strategy & Mitigation
Goal (provisional)’ for the Philippines
o Developing Global Environmental Facility
Full-Size Project on ‘Sustainable Cities in the
Philippines’
EDUCATION

2019-2021 Master of Science in Sustainable Urban Development (on-going)

(expected)
University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
 Recipient, MSc Programme Scholarship Award
 Fellow, Green Labs, a six-week programme run by Oxford Hub and funded by
the Department of Environmental Sustainability at University of Oxford, for
people who want to learn to make change happen through community action
 Southeast Asia Coordinator, Oxford Urbanists

2014-2016 Master of Arts in Political Science major in Global Politics

Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines)
 Recipient, Ateneo Graduate Students Scholarship Foundation
 Thesis: “Governing Urban Sustainability Transitions: A Comparative Case
Study of Local Energy and Climate Governance in Kyoto City (Japan) &
Quezon City (Philippines)” with final grade equivalent of ‘very good’
 Supervisors: Anne Lan Candelaria, PhD (ADMU Political Science), Antonio La
Viña, JSD (Ateneo School of Government) and Hinorobu Unesaki, PhD
(Kyoto University)

Sep 2015- Master’s Mobility, Erasmus Mundus with Asia (non-degree)

Apr 2016
Institute of International Relations, University of Warsaw (Poland)
 Recipient, Erasmus Mundus Scholarship under EMMAsia, an EU-funded
academic scholarship program between European universities and
developing Asia

Spring Term ASEAN University Network-Kyoto University 京都大学

2015
Joint Masters’ Thesis Supervision (non-degree)
Graduate School of Energy Sciences, Kyoto University (Japan)
Energy Policy Division, Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science,
Graduate School of Energy Sciences, Kyoto University
 Recipient, Japanese Government Scholarship under the ASEAN University
Network-Kyoto University “Joint Master’s Thesis Supervision”
 Supervisor: Hinorobu Unesaki, PhD (Kyoto University)

2010-2014 Bachelor of Arts in Economics-Honors Program (2014)

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (2014)
with Minor Degree in Management (2014)
Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines)
▪ Recipient, Full Scholarship under the Ateneo Office of the Vice President (OVP)
▪ Recognition:
o Cum Laude Distinction
o Finalist, Most Outstanding Individual for Leadership & Service (University)
o Finalist, Class Valedictorian (University)

Summer Term International Academic Exchange (non-degree)

2014
Kyushu University 九州大学 (Fukuoka, Japan)
 Recipient, JASSO scholarship by the Japanese Government Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) for Kyushu
University’s Asia in Today’s World Program

Spring Term International Academic Exchange (non-degree)

2013
Sogang University 서강대학교 (Seoul, South Korea)
 Recipient, Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) by the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology (MEST), Government of South Korea
 PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE
(CHRONOLOGICAL
)

Oct 2018 to City Adviser for Quezon City, Philippines

Dec 2020 C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
(expected)
▪ Working closely with the Quezon City Government, the Head of Climate
Action Planning for Southeast Asia, and C40’s Regional Director for East
and Southeast Asia & Oceania, the City Adviser serves as the embedded
focal adviser responsible for the strategic delivery of C40’s Climate Action
Planning (CAP) programme in Quezon City
▪ Key responsibilities:
o Manage the local delivery of high-quality tailored technical
assistance on long-term climate action planning;
o Facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and knowledge transfer
across the city;
o Establish strategic partnerships with external local and national
governmental and private partners and stakeholders; and
o Manage national and global consultants (ICLEI Southeast Asia,
Manila Observatory, Ricardo Energy & Environment, and CASCO
Consortium with Climate Adaptation Services, SWECO & Deltares)
▪ Key milestones (as of 2Q 2020):
o Led the delivery of six major project outcomes: City-wide 2016 GHG
Inventory; GHG Inventory Management Plan; Strategic Climate
Action Planning Appraisal Report; Climate Risk Assessment
Management Plan; Inclusive Climate Action Policy and Stakeholder
Analysis Report; and 2016-2050 GHG Scenario Analysis;
o Provided strategic and technical advice leading to high-level
mayoral global commitments for the city: “Good Food Cities
Declaration”, “Clean Air Cities Declaration”, and the “Equity Pledge”

May 2016 to Consultant, Developing UNDP-Global Environmental Facility (GEF)

Nov 2018 Project “Supporting Cities to Achieve Low Emission Urban Pathways
(SCALEUP)”, ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat
▪ The UNDP Philippines together with the Department of Energy initiated the
development of the Project Identification Form (PIF) and Project Preparation
Grant (PPG) Action Plan for a full-size project (at US$ 27-M) under the Global
Environmental Facility-Six. This was subcontracted to ICLEI Southeast Asia.
▪ As project coordinator, I led a team of two junior and three senior climate experts,
successfully designing and submitting the SCALEUP Project:
o Collaborated with local, national and regional teams to design a full-size
project on sustainable urban development in Philippine cities;
o Identified potential climate change mitigation and energy efficiency short-
term and medium-term investments for cities;
o Operationalized project activities including detailed budget preparation,
calculation of GHG reduction impacts, and completion of Social and
Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP); and
o Facilitated multi-stakeholder consultation workshops with internal and
external stakeholders.

Jan 2017 to Country Liaison Officer (Philippines) for the “Ambitious City Promises:
May 2018 Commitments for Low Carbon Development in Southeast Asian Cities”
ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat
▪ The Ambitious City Promises (ACP) is a three-year international project supporting
nine large cities in Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam, working with Seoul
Metropolitan Government, to establish ambitious climate targets, plans and actions.
▪ As Country Liaison Officer, I provided overall supervision in the implementation and
execution of project activities in the Philippines:
o Led an internal team of four project staff and coordinated with various
external teams to implement all project activities with Philippine project
cities (i.e. Pasig, Marikina and Parañaque);
 o Conducted workshops on capacity needs assessment, stakeholder
mapping, institutional development, and low carbon planning;
o Coordinated with and provided support to project teams in Indonesia, Viet
Nam, South Korea and Germany for global advocacy;
o Established National Project Advisory Group, project steering committee
comprising of key national government agencies and development
partners (UN-Habitat, League of Cities);
o Advocacy and representation in global events: 2017 ASEAN Mayors
Forum (Taguig, Philippines), UNFCCC COP23 Cities and Regions
Pavilion (Bonn, Germany), Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate (Seoul, South
Korea), 9th World Urban Forum (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); and
o Provided monitoring and evaluation support for international reporting to
the German International Climate Initiative (IKI).

May 2016 to
May 2018 Project Officer for Climate Change Mitigation
ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat

As Project Officer for ICLEI Southeast Asia, I managed a portfolio of urban projects on
low carbon development, sustainable energy and urban research, and worked directly
with more than ten cities across Asia.

Project Coordinator and Co-Author, Developing the ‘National Climate

Change Mitigation Framework Strategy & Mitigation Goal’ (Philippines)
May 2016 to May 2018
▪ UNDP and the Philippine government subcontracted ICLEI to develop the
“National Climate Change Mitigation Framework Strategy (NCCMFS) and
Mitigation Goal”, the country’s roadmap for low carbon development and serving
as basis of the Philippines’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
▪ As Project Coordinator, I led and supervised a team of two junior and five senior
climate experts to develop the NCCMFS completing the following tasks:
o Developed the national framework, including six roadmaps for the
following cross-cutting areas: (i) institutional & technical capacity; (ii) R&D
and innovation; (iii) technology transfer, (iv) gender mainstreaming; (v)
role of local governments; and (vi) fiscal & financial instruments;
o Developed sectoral roadmaps to mainstream and implement climate
change mitigation in the agriculture, waste, industry, transport, forestry,
and energy (AWIT-FE) sectors;
o Formulated institutional coordination structure outlining roles and
responsibilities for key national government agencies and partners; and
o Led four major multi-stakeholder consultation workshops which
culminated with a high-level presentation to the national Climate Change
Commission (CCC) Management Committee.

Energy Expert, Clean Energy Solutions Center (CESC) Technical

Assistance, U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Aug 2016 to Dec 2017
▪ Provided planning and policy support on energy efficiency for Philippine cities
(Baguio City and Quezon City), leading to draft proposals on the development of
a local energy efficiency and conservation (EE&C) roadmap for the cities.

Contributor, Global Renewables Energy 2017 Report

Oct 2016 to Dec 2016
▪ Provided country-level inputs to the Global Renewables Energy 2017 Status
Report, the most comprehensive annual global overview of the state of renewable
energy by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21).

Capacity Building and Global Advocacy

May 2016 to May 2018 (rolling)
▪ Delivered trainings and presentations at: One Planet Cities Challenge (OPCC)
WWF Karachi Capacity Building Workshop (Pakistan), UN-Habitat World Urban
Forum (Malaysia), 2016 World Urban Youth Forum (Indonesia), Asia Pacific
 Network Science-Policy Dialogue (Thailand), Asia Climate Change Consortium
Regional Workshops (Thailand & Viet Nam), UEA Melaka Summit 2017
(Malaysia), etc; and
▪ Managed major side events at: 2017 ASEAN Mayors Forum (Taguig,
Philippines), UN-Habitat Ninth World Urban Forum (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), UN
HabitatIII PrepCom3 (Surabaya, Indonesia), Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate
Change (Seoul, South Korea), and UNFCCC COP23 Cities and Regions Pavilion
(Bonn, Germany)

Coordinator, Urban Research Portfolio

Dec 2017 to May 2018
▪ Supervised and supported the development and conduct of the following
research projects on climate and energy:
a. “Towards 100% RE Palawan Province” in partnership with the Global
100% RE Campaign of Climate Action Network-International
b. “Comparative Analysis of Climate Planning and Implementation in
Indonesian and Philippine Local Governments” with ICLEI Indonesia
Country Office

Project Proposal Development

May 2016 to May 2018 (rolling)
▪ Heavily involved in the preparation of various tenders and project proposals
encompassing small grants, medium-size projects and full-size projects on
climate and energy. Submissions include:
a. “Development of the Philippines Country Programme for the Green
Climate Fund (GCF) 2018-2022” submitted to the UNDP-Philippines
b. “Waste to Energy in Urban Southeast Asia: Advances, Bottlenecks and
Lessons Learned” submitted to the Wuppertal Institute for Climate,
Environment and Energy
c. “World Cities: EU-Third Countries Cooperation on Urban Development:
EU-Southeast Asia Cities Urban Cooperation” under the European
Commission
d. “Access to Sustainable Energy in the Philippines: Promotion of
excellence, learning & awareness on SE4All & the SDG7” under the
European Commission

Aug 2018 to City Program Coordinator for Zamboanga City, Philippines

Sep 2018 USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE)
International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
▪ USAID-SURGE, the $47.8-M flagship project of USAID’s Cities Development
Initiative, supports nine Philippine cities towards resilient, low-emission economic
development, improved business environment, and rural-urban economic
connectivity, among others.
▪ As City Program Coordinator, I provided project oversight:
o Managed the project office in Zamboanga City including operational,
administrative and financial aspects;
o Engaged various city offices (i.e. Office of the City Mayor, City Planning
and Development Office, City Environment, City Engineering Office) and
external stakeholders (i.e. academe and business sector);
o Facilitated the conduct of technical workshops with key officials and local
technical staff and preparation of reports; and
o Represented USAID-SURGE in local events and coordinated with other
USAID projects operating in the city.

Aug 2016 to Lecturer, Department of Economics

Mar 2018 Resident Adviser, Ateneo Residence Halls
Ateneo de Manila University (Quezon City, Philippines)
▪ Taught classes of university-level general principles of economics, agrarian
reform and taxation in the academic school year 2016-2017
▪ Joined and participated in various events and conferences organized by the
Ateneo Economics Department
 ▪ As Resident Adviser for Ateneo Residence Halls, I served the role of a counselor,
guide and moderator for the resident students, attending to their academic,
physical, emotional and spiritual development

SHORT-TERM
CONSULTANCIE
S&
INTERNSHIPS

Jul 2018 Project Development Officer for the Green Climate Fund Readiness
Program (Philippines), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
▪ Provided technical and coordination backstop to the Philippines GCFRP and
various national agencies in preparing a medium-size climate change adaptation
funding proposal (between US$ 50 million - US$ 100 million) titled “Strengthening
the Resilience of the Most Vulnerable Coastal Communities to Climate Change in
the Philippines’ Eastern Seaboard”
▪ A global partnership programme by the United Nations Environment (UNEP),
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Resources
Institute (WRI), the Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme builds
developing countries' capacity to access the Green Climate Fund.

Feb 2018 to Short-Term Consultant, M&E for Knowledge & Capacity Development
May 2018 for the National Climate Change Action Plan (Philippines), GIZ GmbH
▪ Joined a team of five technical staff from the GIZ GmbH and Climate Change
Commission to facilitate the evaluation and updating of the Knowledge &
Capacity Development component of the National Climate Change Action Plan
▪ Collected and analyzed extensive climate data from various government
agencies, and prepared report on accomplishments, gaps, synergies, and
recommendations for various indicators (i.e. gender and development,
knowledge and extension services, capacity building, etc)
▪ This consultancy was supported by GIZ through the Support to the Climate
Change Commission (CCC) program ‘Shaping and Implementing International
Climate Regime-Phase II’

Sep 2015 to Intern, Philippine Embassy (Warsaw, Poland)

Apr 2016 ▪ Developed economic reports on Philippines-Poland economic and trade relations,
and provided support in the conduct of various events and activities of the
Embassy

Apr 2014 to Intern, Climate Network-Japan 気候ネットワーク (Kyoto, Japan)

Jun 2014 ▪ Provided technical, advocacy and policy research support to Kiko ‘Climate’
Network, a Japanese environmental NGO

Oct 2012 to Intern, Ateneo Center for Asian Studies

Mar 2013 Ateneo de Manila University (Quezon City, Philippines)
▪ Served as researcher at the Ateneo Center for Asian Studies, working under its
executive director to complete a full research project titled “Cultural Soft Power of
China, Japan and South Korea toward the Philippines”

OTHER
INTERESTS

▪ On a normal day, you would catch me sharing a lot about plant parenthood and
mindfulness. During long breaks, I frequently visit surf towns. I enjoy surfing, hiking
and traveling to different islands and beaches in the country and the Southeast Asian
region. I also enjoy CrossFit, boxing, going on local food trips, and being a hooman
and playing with the family’s Golden Retriever and pugs.
KEY REPORTS &
PUBLICATIONS

May/Jun 2020 Lagonera, M., Baldo, J. & Santos, J., 2020. “Inclusive Climate Action Stakeholder and
Policy Analysis Report: Quezon City” (forthcoming). Quezon City Government and
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

May 2020 Lagonera, M. & Chan, R., 2019. “Climate Risk Assessment Management Plan for
Quezon City”. Quezon City Government and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

Nov 2019 Lagonera, M., Baldo, J., Dedicatoria, R., et al,. 2019. “GHG Scenario Analysis 2016-
2050 for Quezon City”. Quezon City Government and C40 Cities Climate Leadership
Group.

Oct 2019 Lagonera, M., Baldo, J. & Dedicatoria, R., 2019. “Quezon City Greenhouse Gas
Inventory Management Plan”. Quezon City Government and C40 Cities Climate
Leadership Group.

May 2019 Lagonera, M., Baldo, J., Dedicatoria, R., et al. “Strategic Climate Action Planning
Appraisal Report for Quezon City, Philippines”. Quezon City Government and C40
Cities Climate Leadership Group.

2018 Lagonera, M., Dedicatoria, R., Sanghal, A., et al., 2018. “National Climate Change
Mitigation Framework Strategy & Mitigation Goal (provisional) for the Philippines”.
Climate Change Commission and United National Development Programme-
Philippines.

KEY SPEAKING
ENGAGEMENTS

7-13 Nov 2019 Participant & presenter, “Insights and observations on urbanization, rural-urban
migration, and globalization” at the “43rd Southeast Asia Seminar on Economic
Growth, Ecology, and Equality: Learning from Vietnam” by Kyoto University’s Center
for Southeast Asian Studies & Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Viet Nam

3-5 Apr 2019 Participant & presenter, “Rethinking Sustainable Waste Systems in Quezon City,
Philippines” at “Integrating Health into Urban Planning towards Sustainable
Development Goals in Developing Countries Workshop” at Universiti Selangor, Shah
Alam Campus, Malaysia

3 Apr 2018 Speaker, “The Economics of Renewable Energy: Co-benefits, Challenges and
Opportunities towards Sustainable and Inclusive Development” at the EcoForum 2018
at Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

12 Feb 2018 Speaker, “Making Cities Resilient to Climate Change: Engagements and Lessons from
Indonesian and Philippine Cities” at the ‘Data and Innovation’ WUF9 event by ICLEI,
UNDP and UNICEF at the World Urban Forum 9, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

13 Oct 2017 Speaker, “The Economics of Climate Change”, Ateneo Global Climate Change Week
2017 at Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

7-9 Sep 2017 Speaker, “Achieving Sustainable Cities and Communities through Low Emission
Resilient Urban Development” at the 2017 Urban Environmental Accords (UEA)
Summit in Alor Gajah City, Melaka State, Malaysia

5-6 Sep 2017 Speaker, “Building Resilient Cities through the ICLEI-ACCCRN Process: Insights from
Indonesian and Philippine Cities” at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Green Cities
Conference in Melaka City, Malaysia

3-4 Aug 2017 Resource Speaker and Facilitator, “GreenClimateCities: A Framework towards Low
Emission Urban Development” and “Navigating through ClearPath: Computing,
Completing and Analyzing Greenhouse Gas Inventories for Cities”. One Planet City
 Challenge (OPCC) Training-Workshop in Karachi, Pakistan

15 Jul 2017 Judge, Most Outstanding Economic Research Paper Competition for the Young
Economists Convention at the De La Salle University, Philippines

1 Apr 2017 Speaker, “Building a Sustainable Urban Future” and Judge, “Interdisciplinary Project
Pitch”, Science and Society Summit at Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

6-8 Mar 2016 Speaker, “Low Carbon Initiatives in Southeast Asian Cities” at the Asia Climate
Change Consortium (ACCC) Regional Workshop in Phintsanulok, Thailand

6-8 Feb 2016 Speaker, “Gender and Low Carbon Urban Development for a Sustainable Asia” at the
Science-Policy Dialogue on Low Carbon Development by the Asia Pacific Network,
LoCARNet, and the AIT at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

3-5 Dec 2016 Resource Speaker and Facilitator, “Tools for Community-wide GHG Management
Inventory” at the “Compact of Mayors capacity building workshop” by ICLEI SEAS and
the Cities Development Initiatives for Asia (CDIA), Ortigas, Philippines

24 Jul 2016 Key Note Speaker, “Cities, Youth and Climate Change”, World Urban Youth Meeting,
UN-Habitat PrepCom3 in Surabaya, Indonesia

15 Jul 2016 Speaker, “Energy-Environment Nexus” at the De La Salle University Engineering

Summit 2016: Engineering Beyond Border, Manila, Philippines

Jan 2015 Presenter, “Energy Narratives and Sustainability Governance in Asian Cities” at
Erasmus Opens your Minds: An Interdisciplinary Scientific Conference at the
University of Warsaw, Poland

May 2015 Presenter, “Governing Energy Transitions in Cities: A Comparative Case Study of
Local Energy Strategies in Quezon City (Philippines) and Kyoto (Japan)” at Ateneo
Center for Asian Studies Graduate Students International Symposium at Ateneo de
Manila University, Philippines