Andrew Sniderman

Born and raised in Montreal, Andrew graduated with a B.A, in philosophy and political science from Swarthmore College. He studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and graduated with an MPhil in International Relations. His thesis “Public Good and Global Justice in Climate Finance: The Case of Bangladesh” explored the failure of developed nations to finance climate change policy in developing nations. Andrew now works for the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg.

In the middle of his third year of university, Andrew took a leave of absence to co-found the Washington-based Genocide Intervention Network. Through this work, he helped to raise funds to sustain the beleaguered peacekeeping mission in Darfur and generated political support for legislative action. His Darfur advocacy work allowed him to learn more about the role that increasing drought and desertification played in the genocide and deepened his commitment to climate change activism. In December 2009, he attended the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Summit and reported on the lack of progress made there.

During his Action Canada Fellowship (2007-2008), Andrew spearheaded the launch of the Canada Green Bonds initiative and served as its Communications Director. Green Bonds, a modern day Victory Bond for the environment, would be purchased by Canadians, backed by government, managed by the private sector, and designed to accelerate the rollout of sustainable energy. Andrew was responsible for developing communications strategies that reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office, opposition parties, three government departments, NGOs and to the media. His encounters with a wide range of Canada’s finest environmental entrepreneurs and policy leaders reinforced his conviction that an alternative to current development is possible.

A former intern with London’s Sunday Times and a sometime blogger with the Huffington Post, Andrew’s Sauvé project allowed him to further refine his skills as a journalistic writer. Andrew is a former intern in the Parliamentary Internship Programme (2007-08) and a provincial badminton champion.

Andrew has published articles and op-eds in the New York Times, London’s Sunday Times, Toronto’s Globe and Mail, the Montreal Gazette, the Toronto Star, Maclean’s Magazine, This Magazine, Maisonneuve, and the Columbia Journalism Review on subjects including surveillance drones, Iraqi refugees, the exile of a Somali Canadian, human rights advocacy, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for residential schools, and Aboriginal self-government. In 2011, he won the Canadian Association of Journalists Print Feature of the Year award.

In June 2016, Andrew started working as a policy advisor for Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. In his new role, he will focus specifically on global human rights issues.

Building upon this network, Andrew spent his time as a Sauvé Fellow researching and writing about Canadian climate change policy. He conducted interviews with leading entrepreneurs, policy makers and community leaders from across the country and used these interviews to produce a series of articles that articulate concrete recommendations regarding how each of Canada’s regions can reduce its carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, as well as how each region can best adapt to the climatic changes that are already underway. This work builds towards Andrew’s broader goal: to present a credible alternative vision for Canada’s development.

Links: 

• The Era of Carbon Conditionality
• Andrew delivered a TedX talk promoting the Canadian Green Bonds initiative