Abeer Seikaly is a Jordanian thinker and maker who has a keen ability to produce inspiring, thought-provoking and future-focused creative projects. Her work spans architecture, cultural production, and design, combining elements from each discipline to redefine how we approach and understand the spaces we build and live in.
Joshua Curiel, sees the harrowing impacts that the climate crisis is having in all parts of life. As a vocal critic of Brexit, Curiel, despite being mild-mannered, isn’t afraid to criticise those in power when he feels they’re wrong. He’s only 20, but has already made quite the name for himself, writing on Brexit and the climate crisis for some of the UK’s largest newspapers, including The Independent and The Guardian.
The Arts & Nature Social Club, or ANSC, is an international members club launched in Berlin in November 2019. As such, ANSC is shaping a global community of opinion leaders from the arts, sciences, and entrepreneurship.
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE was sworn in as Mayor of Freetown in May 2018 with a commitment to transform Freetown using an inclusive, data-driven approach to address challenges in the city. A chartered accountant with over 25 years of private sector experience in strategic planning and risk management, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr’s public sector engagement began with her work as Director of Planning at the National Ebola Response Centre during the 2014-15 Ebola epidemic. Mayor Aki-Sawyerr is co-founder of the Sierra Leone War Trust for Children (SLWT) which supports disadvantaged children in Sierra Leone today.
Dr. Wolfgang Oels is Ecosia’s COO. He has a PhD in Energy Economics and previously worked as Operations Executive in the Solar Energy Industry both in Germany and California.
Harjeet Singh is the global lead on climate change for ActionAid. Based in New Delhi, India he supports countries across the world on climate change policy and advocacy. Prior to this, he managed disaster resilience programme globally and coordinated emergency response and preparedness work in Asia and the Americas. Until 2007, he led the tsunami response programme in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for ActionAid India. He writes regularly on climate change and disaster resilience issues and tweets at @harjeet11.
Nick Heubeck is a 20 years old student of communication and policy. He is partly responsible for press and campaign strategy at Fridays for Future Germany and tweeting at @FridayForFuture. He is a guest contributor for The Beam.
Designer, sociologist, sustainability provocateur, and 2016 United Nations Champion of the Earth, Dr. Leyla Acaroglu challenges people to think differently about how the world works. As a pioneer of creative change, she weaves together sustainability, design, and systems thinking to activate the transition to a circular and sustainable future by design. Leyla is the founder of Disrupt Design, The UnSchool, and CO Project Farm.
David Roberts is a staff writer for Vox. His topics of journalistic expertise include energy, climate change and politics.
Advaya is a systems change platform founded by sisters, yoga teachers and activists Ruby Reed & Christabel Reed to galvanise a culture shift towards the radical regeneration of our soil, soul, and society. Advaya’s media platform, campaigns and live events empower and inspire. Exploring the connections between ecology, economy, spirituality and mental health, they weave stories of beautiful transformation, resistance and renewal.
Inna Braverman founded Eco Wave Power in 2011. With her leadership, Eco Wave Power installed the first grid-connected wave energy array in Gibraltar. She is also responsible for securing 190MW of projects pipe-line for the company. For Inna, clean electricity is a very personal journey, as she was born 2 weeks prior to the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, and suffered respiratory arrest due to the pollution in the region.
Rana Adib has 20+ years of experience in implementing innovative and cross-cutting projects in sustainable energy, environmental services and development. At the international policy network REN21, she has developed a 900+ international expert community and lead the REN21 Renewables Global Status Report series to become an international reference document in the field. Twitter: @RanaAdibX
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim has been an advocate for the rights of indigenous peoples and the protection of the environment for over 15 years. She is leading a community-based organisation in Chad, AFPAT, which is active in most international Sustainable Development Goal areas, including climate change, biodiversity, desertification, health & education.
Bren Smith, GreenWave executive director and owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm, pioneered the development of restorative 3D Ocean Farming. A lifelong commercial fisherman, he was named one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s “25 People Shaping the Future” and is author of Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer.”
Twitter: @GreenWaveOrg
Dr Karve is the Director of Samuchit Enviro Tech, a social enterprise promoting sustainable products and services. She is a member of the Executive Board of Clean Energy Access Network, an India-wide society for decentralised renewable energy technologies, and the National Facilitator of the Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change.
Dymphna is the CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance, bringing 25+ years of experience in global development, energy, and climate initiatives. She has worked and lived in China, India, and Kenya, and engaged with island nations in the Caribbean and the Indian and Pacific Oceans to support their transition to renewable energy.
Twitter: @DymphnaVDL
From covering the extremes of war and the worst human tragedies for a decade and now chronicling the best of humanity working to protect nature and critically endangered species, award-winning National Geographic photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale has come face-to-face not just with conflict and violence but with surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit.
Owner and director of the Klima2020 company working with climate communication and investment in green business. Founder of the UN Environment centre GRID-Arendal in Norway. Former Director at the UN Environment headquarters in Nairobi with the IPCC secretariat as part of the portfolio.
Twitter: @tveitdal
Alex career has always been dedicated to the solar industry: He worked as a Product Manager at Solarwatt AG, before moving to Canada and becoming Managing Director at Soventix Canada Inc., a global solar project developer. In 2016, he founded the Greentech Startup Zolar together with his Co-founder and friend Gregor Loukidis. His vision: Changing the world’s energy generation to 100% renewable.
Christian Breyer’s major expertise is the integrated research of technological and economic characteristics of renewable energy systems specialising in energy system modelling for 100% renewable energy, on a local but also global scale. He worked previously for Reiner Lemoine Institut and Hanwha Q Cells. He is chairman for renewable energy at the Energy Watch Group and reviewer for the IPCC.
Twitter:@ChristianOnRE
After 10 years of professional experience as a technical expert for financial software vendors. Gilbert set up Fermat, a risk management financial software house acquired in 2008 by the rating agency Moody’s. To date, Gilbert owns/is a shareholder of a dozen of companies operating in various domains, including EasyMile.
Andrew Nisker has made over six feature-length environmentally focused documentaries that have been broadcast on the worlds leading media outlets including CBC, Netflix, TF1 and Sundance Channel. After twenty years of filmmaking, he continues to find and tell stories that inspire viewers to take action on climate change.
Twitter: @andrewnisker
Ajaita is the Founder/CEO of Frontier Markets, a company providing access to affordable clean energy solutions to low-income households in India by building a network of rural entrepreneurs. She also serves on the board of Frontier Innovations Foundation, a non-profit focused on last-mile distribution support for clean energy companies.
Twitter: @Ajaita_Shah
Eugene is a Malawian born Dronepreneur who’s passionate about robotics and using drones to solve problems in developing countries. He is Co-founder of MamaBird, an emerging drone logistics company focused on health care deliveries in Africa.
Twitter: @eugenemaseya
Fernando Laposse is a London based Mexican designer, specialising in transforming natural materials that are often considered waste into refined design pieces, allowing their historical and cultural connotations to take center stage. His works address topics such as sustainability, the loss of biodiversity, community disenfranchisement and the politics of food.
Instagram: @FernandoLaposse
Good On You is a fashion-tech startup that helps shoppers know the impact of fashion and buy better. With over 15 years experience in corporate social responsibility, Sandra has been concerned with sustainability and supply chain issues in big business for a long time. She started Good On You because she believes there’s a huge opportunity to the use power of people’s choices to create a fairer and more sustainable future.
Nithya Ramanathan is the CEO and Co-founder of Nexleaf Analytics. She leads Nexleaf’s efforts to preserve human life and protect our planet through the design of sensor technologies, data analytics generation, and advocacy for data-driven solutions to global challenges.
Twitter: @NithyaRamanath1
Meike is passionate about fighting poverty. During a 20-plus year career spanning five continents, she has helped large numbers of people gain access to energy, water and sanitation services. Previously she held various leadership positions during her 16 years at the World Bank. Earlier she worked for the Global Water Partnership and Doctors Without Borders.
Twitter: @MeikeVanGin
Som has been working to establish Carbon Masters as leading carbon management experts in India. He has evaluated several low carbon technology solutions that will help Indian companies to reduce their carbon emissions and save costs. He is currently working with a major Telecom Infrastructure provider to reduce their diesel consumption and carbon footprint.
eTrash2Cash is a social enterprise that helps low income people in Nigeria exchange all their wastes for cash incentives.
Sigrid is a communications specialist with over seven years’ experience in various industries including e-commerce, technology, business, travel, and public affairs. She helps shape external perception for listed companies, smaller startups, consultancies and government institutions alike.
Ruth’s business management experience extends over 20 years. She manages finance and oversees strategic development at XDI, which provides investment grade analysis of physical climate risk.
Giuseppe has been responsible for the coordination of EU-funded research projects at the European Consulting Brussels in Belgium, and has worked as an external consultant for the RAI – Radio Televisione Italiana in a project for digital literacy. Since 2015 he has been part of the PUSH Innovation Lab as a Strategist and Project Manager.
Yisha He is the Chairwoman of the Board of the UNISUN Energy Group. She also co-founded “Women in Renewables Asia” as a women’s self-help development platform to drive gender diversity across the renewable energy sector, while creating greater value and encouraging social innovation by diversifying the sector’s industrial development.
Alexandra Wandel is Executive Director of the World Future Council. Previously, she worked for Friends of the Earth Europe in Brussels, Ecopeace Middle East in Cairo and East Jerusalem and Greenpeace in Hamburg. As the spokesperson of Women for Peace and Ecology, she co-hosted the first International Women’s Forum parallel to the UN Climate COP 1 in Berlin.
Twitter: @WandelAlexa
Eyong Blaise Okie is an international award-winning freelance multimedia journalist. He has produced content for numerous international organizations and TV networks including the BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Deutsche Welle, Africa 24, BEIN Sports, the Washington Post and CNN.
Sharon is an award-winning multimedia journalist. Based in Botswana, she contributes for Thomson Reuters Foundation news, Xinhua News Agency, SOPA Images, Botswana Guardian Newspaper and more. She is a fellow of 2019 Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, Climate Tracker COP24, Wits Africa-China Reporting Project and a Chairperson of the Botswana Society for Human Development.
Twitter: @SharonTshipa
Edelsin is a participant of BYkids, an organization that mentors teens around the world to tell their stories through film and share the realities of global inequality and injustice on the world stage, to share her life story and fight against the climate crisis with the world.
In the last 16 years working in the energy sector, Kofi has designed and implemented a number of energy efficiency projects. Mr Agyarko also served as a member of the UNEP-GEF lighting and refrigerating task force put together in 2015 to develop policy guidelines for accelerating the global adoption of quality, energy efficient lighting and refrigerating appliances.
CCEEE is organisation that works collaboratively with experts in energy efficiency to initiate Energy Efficiency China, a research project designed to summarise and analyse important issues related to energy efficiency in China. Her organisation provides policymakers with technical assistance and feasible policy recommendations with the research results.
Justin is an artist, designer, and translator based in Berlin, Germany since 2001. For many years he worked with art galleries, travel and tourism companies, and internet start-ups. In 2012, he shifted his professional focus almost exclusively to artistic and culinary projects in the vegan and travel communities.
Servane Mouazan is an innovation entrepreneur and activist, passionate about co-designing human-centred practices and impactful strategies with socially conscious organisations in private and public sectors. Through her company Ogunte, she has spent 20 years amplifying the work of women in social enterprises and campaigning for an inclusive gender lens.
Twitter: @ServaneMouazan
Koen Peters is Executive Director at GOGLA, the association for the off-grid solar energy industry. Throughout his career he has been active in various private and public sector roles, supporting sustainable and green business development, specifically renewable energy.
Twitter: @KJPPeters
Environmental activist Nguy Thi Khanh has been working for the socially just development of Vietnam and Southeast Asia for almost 20 years and received the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize for her work to push Vietnam’s energy transition.
Helen is the Chief Executive Officer of The Climate Group. In addition to leading the growing Climate Group team, Helen sits on the board of the We Mean Business Coalition and serves on the advisory board for the Global Climate Action Summit, leading the work on Healthy Energy Systems.
Twitter: @hl_clarkson
Amy Au is a Project Officer for SDSN Youth. She is currently the Digital Communications Manager of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation based in Stockholm and Geneva.
Kira Mullally is a Project Officer for SDSN Youth. She is currently a Master’s Candidate at the Graduate Institute Geneva, studying International Affairs with a focus on Environment and Sustainability.
Ndoni Mcunu is a PhD Candidate at Witwatersrand University’s, at the Global Change Institute and the Founder & CEO of Black Women in Science (BWIS), a registered non-profit organization which aims to deliver capacity development interventions that target young black women scientists and researchers.
Alexandre focuses on a societal model where humans are part of the upcoming circular economic framework, here they are considered nature – at the heart of the regeneration of the biosphere they depend upon to live – and, they are considered endlessly available energies that will aim at restoring a world at scale focused on human prosperity first thanks to material circularity.
Twitter: @AlexLemille
Fred started his career at Caltech / NASA JPL where he developed an award-winning software to study Climate Change. As an investor & serial entrepreneur, he has spent his life supporting the energy transition. BeeBryte is an AI software company which helps commercial buildings and factories to consume electricity more efficiently.
Sieun first delved into the topic of environmental migration in 2009, while researching climate change negotiations. This led to her interest and determination to work in environmental migration, and to be a voice for those forced to leave their homes due to the effects of climate change.
Next Kraftwerke GmbH is an operator of a large-scale virtual power plant (VPP) and a certified power trader on the EPEX energy exchange’s spot market. Jochen is responsible for Sales, Product Development & Technology, and has driven the company’s development towards more flexible marketing of renewable energy.
Mariama Kamara is the Founder & Director of Smiling Through Light which provides clean, reliable & sustainable energy in Sierra Leone through the sales of solar products. Her current role includes working on development projects at local, national and international levels relating to Science & Technology, HIV, Microbicides, Education and Innovation.
Twitter: @smilingmk
Carl Brockmeyer currently leads an ambitious digital transformation initiative for the industrial global player Leybold. An entrepreneur at heart and experienced ROI-driven global leader by trade, he is very familiar with the world of dynamic start-ups and young ventures as well as the needs and demands of established corporations.
Nancy E. Pfund is Founder of DBL Partners, a VC firm whose goal is to combine top-tier financial returns with meaningful social, economic and environmental returns in the regions and sectors in which it invests. DBL has helped to reveal the power of VC to promote social change and environmental improvement, and Nancy Pfund writes and speaks frequently on the field of impact investing.
Twitter: @NancyPfundDBL
As a journalist, environmental communications expert and social media manager, Lucia enjoys giving a voice to social business projects. She loves getting lost in nature, and she is a strong advocate for gender rights and sustainable projects. Passionate traveller, ocean lover and enthusiastic storyteller, she recently joined the ENERGIA team as Communications Officer.
Holger Kraft is a partner in CMS Hasche Sigle, Germany, and has been nominated as one of the six leading lawyers for energy related M&A and finance transactions by JUVE Handbuch 2018/2019. He has special expertise on M&A transactions in relation to energy projects, in particular in relation to project financed offshore and onshore wind transactions.
“We Nigerians are affecting our environment directly. All you have to do is look up to the sky and see the dense smog that hovers over Lagos on most days.”
“Our common task is to not stop being critical and demanding, and we need to be vocal, show that we are a critical mass with political ideas that need to be acknowledged.”
Our actions (or inactions) over the next few years will determine the fate of humanity. Each of us need to look at what we personally can offer up to the transition to a new sustainable economy.
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