Angela Merkel served as Chancellor of Germany. She was Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety and, while Minister, presided over the first United Nations Climate Conference in Berlin, held in 1995. During her time as German Chancellor and until leaving office, she regularly took part in UN Climate Conferences and pushed for binding undertakings to reduce national and international carbon emissions.
Miguel Araújo is a Research Professor at the National Museum of Natural Sciences, in Madrid and Chair of Biogeography at the University of Évora. He has published over 250 articles and is recognised as a world leader in the study of climate change effects on biodiversity. Thomson-Reuters highly-cited scientist since 2014, having received the 2016 Rey Jaime I Prize and 2018 Pessoa Prize.
European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action in the Juncker Commission between 2014 and 2019, Miguel Arias Cañete led the EU negotiations of the Paris Agreement. Previously, he served as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (2000-2004) and as Minister for Agriculture, Food and Environment (2011-2014) in Spain.
Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and CONICET, Argentina. She has pioneered the field of plant functional biodiversity and its links with societies, being one of the world’s most cited scientists in ecology. She has co-Chaired the first global intergovernmental assessment of biodiversity and human quality of life (IPBES Global Assessment).
Runa Khan is the Founder of Friendship, an International Social Purpose Organisation serving over 7 million climate migrants annually, with an integrated solution approach for 20 years, helping them transform their lives by bringing them opportunity, dignity, and hope. She has received numerous awards including, the Rolex Award for Entrepreneurship, and the Schwab Social Entrepreneurship Award.
Head of the Environmental Systems Analysis group of Wageningen University and editor-in-chief of the international journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (Elsevier). Over the last decade, Rik Leemans has been recognized for developing and integrating innovative natural and social science knowledge.
Writer and environmentalist. Sunita Narain is Director-General of the Centre for Science and Environment and editor of the magazine Down To Earth. In 2005 she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government and also received the World Water Prize. In 2020, she was awarded with the Edinburgh Medal. She continues to work on climate justice, arguing that the world needs an ambitious and equitable agreement. Ms. Narain was also a member of India’s Prime Minister’s Council for Climate Change.
Johan Rockström is Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam. He is an internationally recognised scientist on global sustainability issues and led the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework for human development in the current era of rapid global change.
Director General of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria. Schellnhuber is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, China. He founded the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in 1992 and headed that institute for 26 years. Schellnhuber is an active member of numerous scientific societies, most importantly the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy Leopoldina and the US National Academy of Sciences.
Chair of the African Climate Foundation and Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town. Carlos Lopes has held leadership roles at the United Nations and African Union, including Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (2012-16). He serves on several global commissions and boards relating to climate, energy and development.
