Minister of Finance, Luxembourg It’s not an easy time to be a minister of finance. The war in Ukraine has contributed to an energy crisis, higher costs of living, and food insecurity around the world. Its long-term effects on the climate crisis remain unclear, but efforts are steered towards shifting investments towards renewable energy sources. […]
Executive Director of the Global Coffee Platform A cup of coffee is so much more than just a simple beverage. Each drop encapsulates a complex supply chain of farmers, traders, roasters and retailers, spanning mostly family-run smallholder farms in the tropical coffee belt, to an international network of shippers and sellers, ultimately landing daily in […]
Deputy Executive Secretary of UNCCD and former Minister of Environment of Costa Rica Say ‘Costa Rica’ and the image of a water-dripping green haven might spring to mind. While cloud forests and moss-covered trees continue to be features of the country, lesser-known Costa Rican landscapes are part of the Central American Dry Corridor, which is […]
Journalist, editor, and founder of independent media organization Agenda Propia Colombian journalist Edilma Prada Céspedes believes that reporters can contribute to restoring the planet through nuanced, inclusive stories that amplify the perspectives of front-line environmental stewards—especially Indigenous elders and women. Twenty years ago, Edilma started traveling Colombia’s remote rural landscapes to document what would become […]
Founder of the Casa Socio-Environmental Fund When Maria Amália Souza left her hometown in São Paulo State for college in the United States in the 1980’s, little did she know she would eventually come back to create the world’s first socio-environmental fund by and for South Americans. Casa, which started two decades ago with five […]
Founder of environmental NGO Light on a Hill Growing up in a rural community in Kenya, Eva ‘Kandi’ Makandi regarded nature as a member of her family. “The farms’ outputs provided our school tuition, and the diverse fruits and berries were our daily go-to,” she said. “We played in the forests, swam in the nearby […]
Founder and CEO of Skin Gourmet Look on the back of any skincare product, and you will likely find a label showing dozens of ingredients that most people don’t know and can’t pronounce. Most are not edible. One Ghanaian entrepreneur wants to change that: she’s developed a line of products from traditional West African ingredients […]
Founder and CEO of The Green Protector Co-founder and global coordinator of the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition Climate change is not just a planetary crisis—it is also a deep injustice. While wealthier countries tend to emit more greenhouse gas emissions, poorer countries that have contributed little to global warming are hit by the extreme […]
Executive Director at Sustainability in the Digital Age and incoming CEO at the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) As a woman, Rwandese-born Éliane Ubalijoro has always known her place. And that place has been heading molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics teams in a biotech company, teaching leadership development at McGill University in […]
Musician and activist for social, gender, and climate justice Malian-born Inna Modja is variously described as a musician, an actor, an artist, a United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Land Ambassador, Chief Executive Officer of Code Green, and an entrepreneur in the Web3 space, dealing in one-off digital works of art to fund green and […]
Executive Director of Africa No Filter As a TV presenter, producer, author, and publisher, Moky Makura has told the story of some of Africa’s most successful global entrepreneurs, profiling visionaries who are leading the continent into a more prosperous and equitable future. But media portrayals of Africa as a continent without agency remain pervasive. So, […]
Ukraine Program Manager, European Climate Foundation Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent shockwaves across the world, causing widespread human suffering and a humanitarian emergency. Many countries are now grappling with food and energy insecurity. Meanwhile, climate change has fallen to the wayside while governments look to fossil fuels to address immediate energy shortfalls. “The war […]
Acumen Fund Regional Director, Pakistan Ayesha Khan has always admired the rigor and beauty of numbers. “I loved the elegance and clarity of finance,” says the Harvard Business School alumni. “I just did not agree with how they were used to make decisions.” So after graduating from Princeton, obtaining her PhD at Harvard, and working […]
Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association Syeda Rizwana Hasan is an environmental law champion. She made headlines when she filed a case against the import of toxin-laden ships destined to be broken down for parts — an industry that can poison its workers and surroundings. The legal battle sparked government regulation of the […]
Executive Director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research & Development (CIPRED) Indigenous rights and environmental activist Pasang Dolma Sherpa grew up between two villages in Nepal: one high in the mountains, the other in the plains. Her mother led the latter for almost 20 years. As the climate changed, her high-altitude home started suffering […]
