Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an expert in the adaptation and mitigation of indigenous peoples to climate change. She is a member of the Mbororo pastoralist people in Chad and President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT). She led several concrete projects that improved access to basic need of indigenous peoples, while promoting their unique contribution to the protection of the environment. 3D participatory mapping, for instance, helps to prevent resources-based conflicts in one of the poorest and most vulnerable region of the world. She is an advocate for the greater inclusion of indigenous people and their knowledge and traditions in the global movement to fight the effects of climate change.

Hindou received the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award and was appointed as a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocate. She serves as a Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues; Member of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC); Member of the Advisory Committee to the Secretary-General’s 2019 Climate Action Summit; and Conservation International Senior Indigenous Fellow. In 2019, she was listed by Time Magazine as one of 15 women championing action on climate change.

President of Colombia, 2010-2018, where he led the complex negotiations with the FARC to secure end to 52-year internal armed conflict in Colombia, 2012-2016. A Nobel Peace Laureate who led complex peace negotiations, ending over 50 years of intractable civil war. Shortly after graduating from the University of Kansas, he joined the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia as an economic advisor and delegate to the International Coffee Organization in London, where he also attended the London School of Economics. Santos earned a mid-career/master's in public administration in 1981 from Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), and was a 1988 Nieman Fellow for his award-winning work as a columnist and reporter.

During his presidency he significantly expanded protected areas in Colombia and strengthened the Ministry of the Environment. One of his biggest achievements in this area was the expansion of marine protected areas from 1.2 million hectares in 2010 to 12.8 million in 2018. For his progressive environmental policies to protect his country’s biodiversity and fight climate change, in 2017, President Santos was awarded the Royal Botanic Kew International Medal and the Wildlife Conservation Society Theodore Roosevelt Award for Conservation Leadership. He was honoured by the National Geographic Society for his unwavering commitment to conservation in 2017.

Paul Polman works to accelerate action by business to tackle climate change and inequality. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he demonstrated that business can profit through purpose, delivering shareholder returns of 290% while the company consistently ranked 1st in the world for sustainability.

Today he works across a range of organisations to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped develop.

www.paulpolman.com

Xiye Bastida, is a 21-year-old Indigenous earth defender, mobilizer, high level speaker, and author. Hailing from the Otomi-Toltec Indigenous community in Central Mexico, she has been actively involved in organizing climate strikes with Fridays For Future since 2019, co-organizing the largest youth-led march in New York City with over 300,000 participants.

In 2020, she co-founded the Re-Earth Initiative, focusing on providing resources and knowledge to frontline communities. Xiye's advocacy led her to address world leaders at the Biden Climate Summit in 2021 and at COP26, emphasizing the importance of climate justice, youth engagement, and a just transition. She also serves as a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Champion and a Climate Governance Commissioner. Xiye authored the first chapter of the "All We Can Save Anthology" and was recognized by the United Nations with the "U.N. Spirit Award." In 2023, she was named ELLE Woman of the Year, and ambassador to the U.N. High Level Champions. Xiye is an honor's student at the University of Pennsylvania and is the Executive Producer in an upcoming climate documentary.

Ralph Chami has over 32 years of experience as a financial economist, with 25 years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He has served as a consultant for the World Bank as well as for the private sector. He is the co-founder of Blue Green Future and Rebalance Earth, and holds visiting professor positions at Williams College and the University of Victoria. He is an expert in a range of macro-financial topics including remittances, fragile states, financial inclusion, financial market development, banking regulation and risk management.

Ralph recently retired from the IMF to work on climate change and biodiversity loss, developing a framework for valuing natural capital, fauna and flora, to build an equitable and nature-positive economy. He has developed the field of "Science-Based Finance℠,” and is a sought-after speaker on developing nature-positive markets. His work on valuing natural capital has been featured at TED2022, TEDx Florence, NPR, National Geographic, Financial Times, Washington Post, WEF, among others, along with peer-reviewed journals. Ralph has a BS from the American University of Beirut, an MBA in Finance and Statistics from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Economics from The Johns Hopkins University.

Wade Davis is a writer, photographer and filmmaker whose work has taken him from the Amazon to Tibet, Africa to Australia, Polynesia to the Arctic. An Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society from 2000 to 2013, he is currently professor of anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia.

Author of 25 books, including One River, The Wayfinders, Into the Silence, and Magdalena, he holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Primarily through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6,000 botanical collections. A professional speaker for 30 years, Wade has spoken from the TED main stage on five occasions, delivered the CBC Massey Lectures, and lectured at 200 universities and some 250 corporations and professional associations.

Davis is an Honorary Member of the Explorers Club, Honorary Vice-President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a recipient of 12 honorary degrees, and a Member of the Order of Canada, among other distinctions. In 2018, he was made an Honorary Citizen of Colombia. Named by the National Geographic Society as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, he has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.”

Sylvia A. Earle is an ocean scientist, explorer, author, speaker, conservation leader, former Chief Scientist of the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence from 1998-2021.

She is currently NGS Explorer at Large, Founder of Mission Blue, Founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Founder of Deep Hope, a Founding Ocean Elder, a Founding IUCN Patron of Nature and Council Chair for the Harte Research Institute. A graduate of Florida State University with MA and PhD degrees from Duke University, she has 34 honorary degrees, thousands of hours under the sea and has pioneered development and use of innovative technologies for access to the deep sea. She is featured in the Netflix film, Mission Blue and National Geographic’s Sea of Hope.

Her more than 150 honors include the U. S. Department of the Interior’s Conservation Service Award, Netherlands Order of the Golden Ark, the Princess of Asturias Prize for Concord, the Tallberg Global Leadership Prize, Chile’s Senado Comendador medal, the TED Prize, the Explorers Club and Lowell Thomas medals, the Society of Women Geographers medal, the Royal Geographic Society’s Patron’s Medal and the National Geographic’s Hubbard Medal. Named “Her Deepness” by the New Yorker and the New York Times, she is Time Magazine’s First Hero of the Planet and a Library of Congress Living Legend.

Farwiza Farhan is dedicated to safeguarding the last wilderness areas of the Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh, Indonesia. This region is unique since it is the last place on Earth where iconic species such as tigers, orangutans, elephants, and rhinoceros still coexist in the wild. She founded the NGO HAkA to protect the region's unique biodiversity, advocating against resource exploitation. Farwiza believe in collective action, and together with broad coalition of actors, they have managed to achieved significant legal victory against oil palm, large hydrodams, and other destructive infrastructure that threated the ecosystem.

Despite challenges of distributed leadership, Farhan champions a holistic and inclusive conservation approach. She has been recognized with the Whitley Award in 2016, Future for Nature Award in 2017, TIME Magazine 100 Next honoree 2022, and she received the TIME100 Impact Award in 2023.

Christiana Figueres is an internationally recognized leader on climate change. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010 to 2016, where she oversaw the delivery of the historic Paris Agreement. Today she is the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of the podcast “Outrage & Optimism” and is the co-author of the recently published book, “The Future We Choose.”

Dr. Naoko Ishii is a professor and executive vice president at the University of Tokyo. She serves as the inaugural director for the Center for Global Commons, aiming to achieve sustainable development within planetary boundaries. She believes academia can mobilize movements with policymakers, businesses, and civil society for stewardship of the global commons and a stable Earth system. Under her vision, the Center collaborates internationally on sustainability and initiates projects with Japanese businesses on energy transition, food systems, and the circular economy.

Previously, Naoko led the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as CEO and chairperson (2012-2020), focusing on economic system transformation. Her career includes roles at Japan's Ministry of Finance with last position as Deputy Vice Minister, the IMF, and the World Bank, serving as country director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

She currently serves as Board member of UN Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, Emergent, member of Advisory Board of Capitals Coalition, EAT Foundation, Steering Committee of Global Commons Alliance. Naoko holds a B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo and has authored several award-winning books.

Mr. Mizuno currently serves as Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of MSCI and as Independent Board Member of LiveWire Group, Inc. and as Mission Committee Member at Danone, S.A. He is the former Special Envoy of U.N. Secretary General on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investments, the former Non-Executive Board Member of Tesla, Inc., and the former Special Advisor to Minster of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. He previously served as Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan (GPIF), the largest pension fund in the world with AUM $1.5 trillion. Prior to joining GPIF, Mr. Mizuno was a partner at Coller Capital, and previously worked for Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. in Japan, Silicon Valley and New York.

He also works to promote long-term and sustainable investments, including as Special Adviser, Milken Institute; Future of Finance Advisory Council member, CFA Institute; Advisory Council Member, Accounting for Sustainability (A4S); Leader, The B Team; Advisory Board Member, Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Education). Mr. Mizuno is additionally involved in academic institutions, with positions including Executive Fellow of Harvard Business School, Harvard University and Executive in Residence and Global Leadership Council Member of Said Business School, Oxford University.

Sunita Narain is a Delhi-based environmentalist and author. She is currently the Director General of Center for Science and Environment (CSE) and Editor of the fortnightly magazine, Down To Earth. Dr. Narain plays an active role in policy formulation on issues of environment and development in India and globally. She has worked extensively on climate change, with a particular interest in advocating for an ambitious and equitable global agreement.

Her work on air pollution, water and waste management as well as industrial pollution has led to an understanding of the need for affordable and sustainable solutions in countries like India where the challenge is to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth. She was a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. In 2016, Time magazine selected her as one of the most influential people in the world. She continues to serve on national and international committees on environment.

Dr. Mamphela Ramphele is a world-renowned figure with an outstanding career as an activist, medical doctor, academic, businesswoman, and political thinker. She was Co-President of the Club of Rome since October 2018 until end of term in November 2023. She is the Co-Founder & Global Brand Ambassador of ReimagineSA since 2016. Previously, she served as a Managing Director at the World Bank from 2000 to 2004 and as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South Africa, from 1996 to 2000.

She obtained a medical degree from the University of Natal in 1968, where she co-founded the Black Consciousness Movement with Steve Biko and became involved in the South African Students Association (SASO). She also holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cape Town, and a Bachelor of Commerce in Administration from the University of South Africa.

Mary Robinson, Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice at Trinity College Dublin and Chair of The Elders, served as Ireland's President (1990-1997) and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002). She was the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Climate Change, and El Niño from 2013 to 2016. Her Foundation, the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, established in 2010, came to a planned end in April 2019.. Former President of the International Commission of Jurists, she chaired the Council of Women World Leaders and founded Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative (2002-2010). Serving as Honorary President of Oxfam International (2002-2012) and Chancellor of the University of Dublin (1998-2019), she is Patron of the International Science Council and the Institute of Human Rights and Business. Robinson is an Ambassador for The B Team, board member of organizations like the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and joint Honorary President of the Africa Europe Foundation. Her books include the memoir 'Everybody Matters' (2012) and 'Climate Justice - Hope, Resilience and the Fight for a Sustainable Future' (2018), and she co-hosts the climate crisis podcast 'Mothers of Invention'.

Carlos A. Nobre is an Earth System scientist from Brazil, who dedicated his scientific career mostly to Amazonian and climate science. He is currently a senior researcher with the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of São Paulo, the creator of the Amazon Third Way-Amazonia 4.0 Initiative, and the co-chair of the Science Panel for Amazon. He was the Program Scientist of the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment of Amazonia. He was one of the authors of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment report, which was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Almost 34 years ago, he proposed the hypothesis of Amazon ‘savannization’ in response to deforestation. He is a former National Secretary of R&D of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil and former Member of the High-Level Scientific Advisory Panel on Global Sustainability at the UN. He is also a member of the Brazilian Academy of Science and of  the World Academy of Science and a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences and of the Royal Society.

Ayisha Siddiqa is a Pakistani American human rights and land defender serving as a Youth Climate Advisor to the UN Secretary General.

In 2020, she co-founded Polluters Out, a global youth activist coalition, and helped launch the Fossil Free University, an activism training course. As part of her activism, Ayisha has helped organize multiple school strikes for climate action and is working to help set up a Youth Climate Justice Fund.

As a research scholar at the New York University School of Law, Ayisha is studying cases at the intersection of human rights and environmental law. Ayisha was recently named one of TIME magazine’s Women of the Year 2023.

David Suzuki is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001.

Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his television and radio series, documentaries and books about nature and the environment.

A longtime activist to reverse global climate change, Suzuki co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990, to work "to find ways for society to live in balance with the natural world that does sustain us."

In addition to his work as an actor, director and producer, Robert Redford was a noted environmentalist since the early 1970’s.

An advocate for climate change awareness and clean energy for over 40 years, Redford received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2016. He served as a trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council and co-founded The Redford Center with his late son James.

As the founder of Sundance Institute, Redford nurtured generations of innovative voices in independent culture through the Institute’s programs, including the Sundance Film Festival.

He is remembered as a Planetary Guardian emeritus.

Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a UN Messenger of Peace, embarked on her pioneering journey in July 1960 at the age of 26. Venturing into the little-known world of wild chimpanzees in what is now Tanzania, armed with only a notebook and binoculars, she provided a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. Over 60 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Goodall not only highlighted the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction but also redefined species conservation to incorporate the needs of local communities and the environment.

Today, the Jane Goodall Institute comprises 25 institutes, supporting core programs such as TACARE, orphan chimpanzee sanctuaries, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. Roots & Shoots, active in over 65 countries, is an environmental and humanitarian program empowering youth to engage in hands-on projects for their communities, animals, and the environment.

Traveling more than 300 days a year, Dr. Goodall spoke tirelessly about the threats facing chimpanzees and environmental crises, urging global action. An acclaimed author and featured in numerous documentaries and films, she received many awards, including the Medal of Tanzania, the Kyoto Prize and the Gandhi/King Award for Nonviolence. In 2004, she was invested as a Dame of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace.

Dr. Jane is remembered as a Planetary Guardian Emeritus.