4 Climate Change Experts Weigh In on Paris Agreement | Skoll World forum 2016
Speakers
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Thom Woodroofe is a Climate Policy & Communications Advisor with Independent Diplomat, which works with the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to help it to navigate the international negotiations on climate change.
Previously, Thom has interned with then-US Congressional Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as then-Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and was the youngest member of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue. The founder of both Left Right Think-Tank and Global Voices, Thom was recognized as the 2009 Young Victorian of the Year. He has also been named one of the ‘Top99Under33’ foreign policy leaders by Diplomatic Courier, awarded a NATO Transatlantic Research Award, and is an alumni of the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.
Thom holds a BA Global (Honours) from Monash University where he graduated with the Sir John Monash Medal, a Master of International Relations from the University of Melbourne where he was recently recognized as the 2015 Rising Star Young Alumni, and a Master of Science in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford. His two previous theses have focused on campaigns for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. He has also spent time studying at the University of California and the Graduate Institute of International Affairs in Geneva. Thom is currently pursuing a doctorate at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
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Chief Executive Officer and President,
CeresMindy Lubber is the CEO and President of the sustainability nonprofit organization Ceres. She has been at the helm since 2003, and under her leadership, the organization and its powerful networks have grown significantly in size and influence.
As a well-known global thought leader, Lubber has inspired capital market leaders to consider all material financial risks and opportunities—including those related to climate change, water scarcity and nature loss—in decision-making.
She has also received numerous awards and recognitions for her leadership including the ’Champions of the Earth award, the UN's highest environmental honor; the Barron’s Magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential women in U.S. finance every year since 2020; the Climate Visionary Award from the Earth Day Network; the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the Skoll Foundation; and the Nonprofit Times 2022 Power & Influence Top 50.
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Managing Director, Capricorn Investment Group
Dipender Saluja is Managing Partner of the Technology Impact Fund, Capricorn Investment Grp, an investment firm founded to demonstrate that it is possible to invest profitably while driving sustainable positive change. TIF is an early investor in iconic companies like Tesla, Redwood Materials, Planet, SpaceX, FORM & Helion. Prior to CIG, Dipender was Chief of Staff at Cadence, a global leader in electronic design, where he built & managed businesses that worked closely with electronics companies around the world. Prior to that he was at Data General (EMC), Honeywell, ROLM (IBM), & GFERC. He’s an electrical engineer by training & attended UND, Univ of Minnesota & Stanford. Dipender serves on the boards of AST, Electric Hydrogen, Halio, Joby (NYSE:JOBY), Navitas (NDAQ:NVTS), QuantumScape (NYSE:QS), Saildrone, SPAN & Summit Nanotech, International Solar Alliance, IonE, the Cyclotron Road Leadership Council, PRIME IAC, & commissioner of the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty (GCEEP).
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Senior Partner, Generation Investment Management LLP (U.S.)
David Blood is co-founder and Senior Partner of Generation Investment Management. Previously, he spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs including serving as co-CEO and CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management from 1999-2003. David received a B.A. from Hamilton College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He is on the Board of New Forests, Dialight, SHINE, The Nature Conservancy, Ashden and Social Finance UK, as well as a Life Trustee of Hamilton College.
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Chair of The Elders, The Elders
Mary Robinson is a founding member and Chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice, human rights and a sustainable planet. She has served as Chair since 2018, and is a passionate advocate for gender equality, human rights and climate justice. She has addressed the UN Security Council on multiple occasions and has met with world leaders including President Ramaphosa in South Africa, Pope Francis in the Vatican, President Macron in Paris and President Xi Jinping in Beijing. She was the first woman President of Ireland (1990–1997) and is a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2002). From 2013- 2016, she served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy in three roles; first for the Great Lakes region of Africa, then on Climate Change and then on El Niño and Climate. She was appointed Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice at Trinity College Dublin in 2019.
