Climate LinkUP Spotlight

In this episode, Sachiko Graber reflects on her work supporting a more sustainable relationship between communities and landscapes in North America. Sachi, from The Nature Conservancy, joins RMI’s Zach Clayton, co-host of Climate LinkUP’s upcoming webinar on 4 April: 'Nature Positive Solutions for Climate Resilience', to explore whether there’s enough space for people, ecosystems, and renewable energy in rural areas, and the many benefits we achieve when communities do succeed in this work.  Join our free webinar on 4 April, to learn more about Sachi's work and listen to the world-class line-up of early career researchers presenting from across the globe. The event program with registration link is on our Climate LinkUP website: https://climatelinkup.com/nature-positive-solutions/

Meet the hosts of our upcoming global Climate LinkUP event: 'The Future of Green Energy' on Tuesday 24 January.Climate LinkUP with partners invites you to the upcoming webinar hosted by two of our UK Energy Ambassadors: Courtney Quinn and Kieran Heeley, showcasing early career researchers from across the globe working in the green energy arena. This webinar will showcase cutting edge global research from both industry and academia, as the two pathways join to tackle the biggest challenges of our generation. Our interactive Roundtable sessions, will provide an an opportunity for you to get involved by posting questions to inspire topical discussions.Register now below and don’t forget to join the discussions in the Green Energy Hub on the free platform!https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FQKCDShGSrykgEBnqW7otA

Keynote Speaker Address by Samantha Atukunda Kakuru Mwesigwa: 'Catalyzing climate action through creating strong connections and facilitating expert collaboration'. Samantha Atukunda Kakuru Mwesigwa, Climate LinkUP Expert Panelist, Director & Legal Counsel Greenwatch and a practicing Lawyer with experience in climate litigation in Uganda. She is a member of the Environmental Law Alliance Network of public interest lawyers from around the world. Samantha is also a part-time lecturer of Environmental Law and Policy at Uganda Christian University. Samantha has authored key publications on rights-based litigation strategies to secure environmental rights and the rights of Nature, is a Founding Fellow for Women for Environment in Africa and has worked with the Centre for Environmental Rights in Cape Town South Africa.

Winnie Chepkemoi is an international development expert with experience in policy practice, social research, and multi-country programs. She has expertise in project development,  implementation and stakeholder management. Her vast experience cuts across private and donor supported organizations. Currently, she serves as Climate Change Finance and Readiness Expert at the Green Growth and Climate Change Division of the African Development Bank. In this capacity, she provides policy, capacity building, and technical support to African countries to enable them mobilize resources from the Green Climate Fund.  Her current focus is on lusophone countries, including Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Equatorial Guinea.In her previous roles, she led the Multilateral Affairs function at the Embassy of Sweden in Kenya, charged with coordinating and reinforcing the relationship and partnership between the embassy, the United Nations Environmental Programme, European Union, and the UN-Habitat.

Stephen Mwongela Moses is the Founder & CEO at Plusfarm Kenya Ltd, an agritech startup based in Kenya. At Plusfarm Kenya, Stephen helps advance access to technologies to smallholder farmers as well as build resilience and inclusion in agricultural value chains. Some of the current projects include managing commercial farms and training thousands of farmers in Kenya on sustainable agriculture. Stephen Moses with Team have developed Plusfarm Agribusiness Management System (PAMS) – a knowledge-based management software that helps farmers in data-driven decision-making for improving productivity and profitability.

Dr Patrick Byakagaba is a Climate LinkUP Expert Panelist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Management, School of Forestry, Makerere University. He has been a visiting scholar at Brown University, Providence, USA and Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, and is a visiting Lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania where he teaches on a regional Forest Science PhD Program. Dr Byakagaba has served on policy working groups as an academic, that prepared Uganda’s policy and legal frameworks relevant to climate change notably the Climate Change Policy,2015,  Climate Change Act, 2021, Nationally Determined Contribution, 2015 and 2022, and National REDD+ Strategy and Action Plan, 2017. He is a member of Climate Change Action Network of Uganda and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Research and Independent NGOs observers. Dr Byakagaba is the current Chair of Uganda Forestry Working Group. 

In this episode we talk to Kevin Li, a Climate LinkUP Expert Panelist, who leads policy research for the Paris Watch Project at the NGO, CarbonCare InnoLab in Hong Kong. The project tracks the annual performance of Hong Kong and other major Asian cities against the cities' climate pledges and Paris agreement goals. Kevin shares his insight into the Paris Watch Project and net zero.

Professor Adam Hart, a Climate LinkUP Expert Panelist,  is an award-winning scientist who was given the title of Science Communicator of the Year in 2010 by the Royal Society of Biology. Adam Hart is a Professor of Science Communication at the University of Gloucestershire, and a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. An author and frequent broadcaster, Professor Hart has presented documentaries for the BBC Radio 4 and World Service and is a frequent commentator on science and environmental matter. 

Espen Ronneberg, a Climate LinkUP Expert Panelist, is one of the speakers for the Climate LinkUP Launch Event on the 8th June. Espen is a senior advisor, climate change multilateral agreements at the climate change and environmental sustainability programme at the South Pacific Community (SPC). Espen will be speaking on "Unpacking the global goal on adaptation from a Pacific perspective". Registration is free for our Climate LinkUP online Global Launch Event:https://climatelinkup.com/launch-event/

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Martin Atkins, one of the Climate LinkUP Expert Panelists and global energy speakers for the live launch event. Dr. Martin Atkins is a senior lecturer in chemical and process engineering at the school of engineering and an Associate Director of the Ahuora center for smart energy systems based at the University of Waikato, NZ.Martin is an expert in energy systems with a particular focus on developing and using process integration methodologies for optimising industrial energy systems and emissions reduction. 

In this episode we talk to Nicc Moeono, our Climate LinkUP Energy Ambassador in Samoa, South Pacific -  who has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Waikato University, New Zealand. Nicc is employed at the Electric Power Corporation (EPC) as a renewable energy engineer in Samoa. We discuss Samoa's pledge to use 100 % renewable energy by 2025, as well as the challenges involved in converting to renewable energy, and what is needed for the world as a whole to reach 100% green energy.

In this episode we are talking to Grace Ah Young,  our Climate LinkUP Ambassador in Samoa South Pacific, who as a climate activist has founded the student association Lanulau’ava, a name which means "the colour of the ava leaf" (green). She tells us about the island where she grew up, the immediate climate change impacts that the Pacific islands are now facing, and the work her organisation is now doing to raise climate awareness both locally and globally. 

In this episode of Spotlight we are talking to Diwigdi Valiente, a Climate LinkUP Ambassador and climate activist from Panama. He talks about the climate challenges faced by his people who are facing the prospect of losing their homes, communities and culture, and are likely to be amongst the world's first climate refugees. He also tells us about his organisation "Burwigan" - a word that means 'children' in Kuna, that uses art to educate about climate change and plastic pollution.NGO: Website: https://www.burwigan.com/welcomeClimate LinkUP website: https://climatelinkup.com/

Tune in to our first Spotlight podcast, where our ambassador Zach Boakes is interviewed about his experience co-founding ‘North Bali Reef Conservation’. His NGO and volunteering organisation focuses on the active restoration of degraded coral reefs in North Bali, whilst running multiple other environmental and educational projects.