Climate Debt Haircut Expert (Macroeconomic and Sovereign Debt Modelling Consultant)

About the role

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is seeking a consultant to develop and operationalise a quantitative methodology for a proposed climate debt haircut for African countries. The work is remote, lasts about four months and is carried out in close coordination with another expert on integrated climate-economy modelling. The consultant reports to the Director of ECA SRO-NA and is supervised by the Economic Affairs Officer responsible for the study.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and assess methodological options to estimate the share of today's public debt attributable to the historical macroeconomic and fiscal consequences of anthropogenic global warming.
• Assess data requirements, feasibility, uncertainties and limitations of the proposed debt methodologies for African countries, and help draw up a joint implementation roadmap with the climate-economy expert.
• Develop a framework for estimating additional future public borrowing and debt arising from a warming pathway reaching +2°C, including adaptation financing.
• Develop a methodology for determining the maximum current public-debt stock compatible with debt sustainability under future climate conditions, while protecting essential development and adaptation spending.
• Propose an integrated quantitative framework for calculating a climate debt haircut, combining historical attribution and a forward-looking sustainability adjustment without double counting.
• Produce four deliverables in English: an inception note (end of month 1), technical specifications for historical debt reconstruction and a future debt modelling framework (end of month 2), the haircut methodology with draft illustrative calculations for two countries (end of month 3), and a feasibility assessment, implementation roadmap and final report with documented calculations (end of month 4).

Required profile

• Advanced university degree (at least a Master's) in economics, macroeconomics, public finance or a closely related field; a PhD is desirable.
• At least 7 years of professional experience in quantitative economics.
• Fluency in English; knowledge of French is desirable.

Required skills

• Experience in sovereign-debt or public-finance modelling and applied econometrics is desirable.