Scaling nature-based solutions for climate resilient infrastructure

Role: Former MSc candidate, 2025
Project: Evaluating FreetownTheTreetown: community ownership, financing and voluntary carbon market readiness in nature-based solutions in West Africa
Affiliation: Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London; Freetown The Tree Town
ORCID ID: 0009-0002-1362-0463
Email: eoin.lacy24@imperial.ac.uk

Eoin is currently studying for an MSc in Environmental Technology at Imperial College London, specialising in Environmental Economics. He holds an undergraduate degree in Geography with Business from the University of Nottingham, where his dissertation on the environmental sustainability of the airline industry was nominated for the Royal Geographical Society’s Transport Geography Research Group Prize.

Eoin has professional experience in the aviation sector, having completed internship at Qatar Airways in their Aeropolitcal and Corporate Affairs Department. His work focused on emissions trading schemes, the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels, and environmental compliance under schemes such as CORSIA. This experience sparked his interest in carbon pricing, climate finance, and the monetisation of environmental assets.

For his MSc thesis, Eoin explored the potential of Freetown’s Tree Town campaign to generate long-term climate finance through the voluntary carbon market. His research involves interviewing key stakeholders , estimating carbon sequestration, analysing the verification and possible strength of the campaigns credits, assessing investment risks (with relation to market volatility of VCM), and the role of digital tree-tracking tools. The project considers key risks such as compliance, land tenure, climate impacts, credit permanence, and investor incentives.

By linking carbon markets with urban nature-based solutions, Eoin hopes to provide a robust assessment of whether such initiatives can become financially self-sustaining while supporting climate resilience, livelihoods, and reforestation efforts in West Africa.