Adaptation vs. Mitigation: Sustainability Views from the Global South and COP 29

Marie-Anne Coninsx is Senior Associate Fellow at the Egmont Institute – the Royal Institute for International Relations (Belgium), and Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College. She is Member of the Board of Directors of the International Polar Foundation (Belgium) and Member of the Arctic Circle Advisory Board (Iceland).

She was the first EU Ambassador for the Arctic, after having been EU Ambassador to Canada – where she extensively visited the Canadian Arctic, and to Mexico. Her postings as Minister Counselor at the EU Delegations to the UN in New York (US) and Geneva (CH), provided her with an extensive multilateral experience. She has been an EU official for 35 years.

She studied law at Ghent University (Belgium), and did post-graduate studies in international- and European law at Cambridge University (UK) and at European University Centre in Nancy (France).

Dr Hannah Parris is a transdisciplinary social science with a strong focus on sustainability transitions and generating research with an impact. Her research interests lie in using transdisciplinary qualitative and quantitative methods, with the lens of institutional economics (governance) and systems theory, to explore processes of behavioural, policy and cultural change at multiple geographical and temporal scales. 

She has worked across academia, politics, government, environmental NGOs and in the private sector on a broad range of sustainability topics including international fisheries management, biodiversity conservation, fashion sustainability and climate change. 

Paulo Savaget is an Associate Professor of Engineering (Engineering Entrepreneurship) and holds a joint appointment between the Department of Engineering Science and Saïd Business School, Oxford University. His primary fields of expertise are entrepreneurship, sustainable development, systems change and innovation management.

The emphasis of his work is on transforming unjust systems through entrepreneurship. He formerly served as Postdoctoral Researcher at the Skoll Centre and as an Assistant Professor at Durham University. Outside academia, he worked as an entrepreneur and as a consultant to large companies, governments, and intergovernmental organisations. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge, as a Gates Scholar.

He has been granted the IBM Business of Government Award, the Green Talents Award from the German Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Oldham Award from the University of Sussex. Has received multiple scholarships for his studies, such as from the Gates Trust, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Brazilian Council for Science and Technology.

Ruth Jepkemoi Singen is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment, environmental conservation, and community engagement. Her journey began with an early love for nature, inspired by her grandmother, a traditional herbalist. With a BSc in Environmental Science from Jomo Kenyatta University and an MPhil in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge, Ruth has championed conservation and gender inclusion throughout her career. 

She has led impactful programs with CHD Conservation Kenya, co-founded Kang4Nature, and provided consulting expertise to UNEP-WCMC and Fauna & Flora. Currently, Ruth is a Program Manager in Judge Business School Executive Education, where she continues to drive initiatives that foster leadership.

Caroline Anitha Devadason has several years of experience in climate change and sustainability in both the international and American spheres.  

Most recently, she was as a humanitarian worker looking at the environmental management of humanitarian aid and creating an environmental framework.  Her previous work was in the development sector on climate change and included analyses for the WHO on a regional assessment of climate change and health in the Pacific islands as well as working out of a country office in Kiribati - one of the first nations expected to become climate change refugees, consulting for the World Bank on climate change and health.

She has been involved in peer reviewer on climate change and migration for the Climate Policy Journal, the University of Oxford on planetary health, consulting with Harvard University on the Lancet Countdown on Climate Change with the lead author of the US brief, and the USGCRP 5th National Climate Assessment of the US government.   

Rosebell Abwonji is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advocate in conservation. Her focus on natural capital and African-led innovation aims to transform conservation practices, promoting diversity, inclusivity, and green and blue transformation in Kenya’s Greater Mara ecosystem.

Her recent work as Cheif Administration Officer for Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association involved the implementation of policies that actively engaged indigenous communities in conservation efforts.The organisation has multiple donor-funded projects with United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Previosly at University of California, Berkeley in the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program and currently pursuing MPhil in Conservation Leadership at University of Cambridge, Rosebells navigation of both corporate and not-for-profit sectors brings a unique and diverse perspective to the panel.

Prof Steve Evans is the S&C HUb Chair and the Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability at the Institute for Manufacturing, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge.

He has co-founded a number of clean technology start-ups and has held various posts advising industry and international governments, including Specialist Adviser to the UK House of Lords Science & Technology Committee. Steve is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology, Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts and Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. He was recently elected by his peers as a Member of Academia Europaea. Steve works to find ways to help industry become sustainable and is particularly interested in inexpensive solutions.