Bio

Idowu Kunlere is a doctoral candidate in Energy and Environmental Policy at the Biden School, University of Delaware (UD). Kunlere helps companies decarbonize without losing their competitive edge, leveraging expertise in compliance, circular economy, sustainable finance, and clean energy. His interdisciplinary work bridges policy, industry, and innovation, enhancing energy security, protecting vulnerable communities and ecosystems, and strengthening critical material supply chains while meeting investor and regulatory expectations.

Before his PhD, Kunlere had ten years of experience with Nigeria’s federal environmental regulator, where he designed and implemented programs that helped large and small firms enhance operational efficiency, minimize pollution, and comply with national and international standards. This frontline experience inspired his doctoral dissertation, which explores enhancing governance frameworks like voluntary carbon markets to deliver credible, auditable, and economically viable corporate decarbonization outcomes.

Kunlere earned an MPA from the National University of Singapore, Singapore, an MSc in Environmental Microbiology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a postgraduate diploma in Environmental Management from TU Dresden, Germany, and a BSc in Microbiology from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. Kunlere served as President of the Biden School Student Association and is a Frederic Bastiat Fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, and a UD DENIN Fellow.

Degrees

Ph.D. Energy & Environmental Policy, University of Delaware, USA | (All but dissertation), May 2026 (In-view)

Master of Public Administration (MPA), National University of Singapore, Singapore, June 2021

Postgraduate Diploma, Environmental Management, Technical University Dresden, Germany, July 2020

Master of Science, Environmental Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Apr. 2015

Bachelor of Science, Microbiology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, Jan. 2011

​PhD Advisor

Dr. Kalim Shah