Dr. Charles Ehrhart, Advisory Board Member at World Action Teams, was born in the US but has spent the last 25 years in Europe, South America, East Africa and Southeast Asia. He has worked within governments, the UN, civil society and the private sector fighting for sustainable development and an end to poverty in a world of plenty. From 2006-2011, he led CARE International’s response to climate change across seventy-eight countries. His major responsibilities included the development and adaptive management of CARE's climate change strategy, the design of multi-country adaptation and carbon finance programmes, and organizational change.

Charles now works for Floresta, Ltd. Established in 2011, Floresta is the world’s first large-scale enterprise catalyzing sustainable investment in tropical forest landscapes and livelihoods through a combination of conventional and carbon finance. The company develops large-scale projects in support of green economic development and the conservation of life-sustaining ecosystems. As a member of Floresta’s Senior Management Team, Charles is responsible for maximizing the company’s strategic contribution to poverty reduction and climate change adaptation.

Charles has a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge, England. He continues to publish, is often invited to speak at key international conferences, and is frequently cited in major newspapers (e.g. New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Le Monde) explaining the social impacts of climate change. His most recent work focuses on the potential for carbon finance mechanisms to support development and adaptation to climate change. Charles is especially interested in exploring the unique roles that the private sector must play in forging solutions to today's most pressing social and environmental challenges. Charles and his family currently live in Nanjing, China.