Dr. Ciniro Costa Jr

Ciniro Costa Jr. is a Scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (CGIAR), where he leads research on greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement, MRV systems, climate finance, and sustainable food systems. He supervises the CIAT Greenhouse Gas Emissions Laboratory, serves as Impact Lead for Sustainable Finance within the CGIAR Hub for Sustainable Finance (ImpactSF), and is a Visiting Researcher at Hokkaido University (Japan).

With over 15 years of experience, Ciniro specializes in agricultural emissions measurement, carbon markets, payments for ecosystem services (PES), and investment mechanisms for sustainable agriculture. He leads the CompensACTION initiative, developing innovative incentive mechanisms for smallholder farmers, and has designed climate accounting methodologies and MRV frameworks across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. He advises multilateral organizations, governments, investors, and agribusinesses—including the World Bank, ADB, IDB, GIZ and FCDO—on climate finance, carbon markets, investment readiness, and credible net-zero strategies.

He holds a PhD in Sciences from the University of São Paulo and serves as Brazil's nominated UNFCCC expert on Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU). He is also a member of technical working groups associated with Verra and the Climate Bonds Initiative and serves on the editorial boards of PLOS Climate and The Royal Society.