Kgauta Mokoena works at AfDB’s department of forestry, fisheries and the environment. Previously he worked as director of mine environmental research and sustainable development. He is a member of the Minerals and Petroleum Board and chair of the working group on built environment at the Africa Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA). Mokoena is a circular economy expert who participated in the circular economy mission in Europe led by the South African Presidency in 2019. He holds a BSc in environmental hydrology and soil science and a bachelor of laws (LLB) from the University of South Africa and a masters’ of social science in policy and development studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He also represents South Africa as the co-chair of ACEA and is a member of PAGE and Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Economy (GACERE).
A lawyer by training, Astrid Schomaker is director for green diplomacy and multilateralism in the European Commission's Directorate General for Environment. Since joining the Commission in 1992, she has held a variety of posts in the areas of international relations and environment policy, amongst them leading the work on chemical policy, marine issues and the EU's environment policy strategy to 2030.
Pau is an accomplished professional with a master's from the College of Europe. With over four years of dedicated service at the European association for industrial battery companies EUROBAT, he led significant policy initiatives related to the batteries regulation. Recently, Pau has embarked on a new chapter in his career as the policy director at the energy technology company CATL, where he continues to leverage his expertise in shaping the future of energy policies.
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Virginijus Sinkevičius
EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
European Commission
Prior to joining the European Commission, Virginijus Sinkevičius was the minister of economy of Lithuania from 2017 to 2019. He led the committee of economy at the parliament of Lithuania, to which he was elected in October 2016. Sinkevičius holds a bachelor’s in international relations and affairs from Aberystwyth University and a master’s in European international affairs from Maastricht University.
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Sandra Dokic
State Secretary
Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia
Sandra Dokic represents Serbia in many international environmental organisations and agreements. These include the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the global methane pledge, low emissions and climate-resilient economy in the Western Balkans and Türkiye, the EU’s 4GREEN project, the green agenda for the Western Balkans, and various United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entities. She is a lawyer holding a bachelor’s in law, master’s in economics and master’s in economic policy and development, all from the University of Belgrade.
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Djaheezah Subratty
Head of Consumption and Production Unit
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Djaheezah Subratty has 30 years’ experience in the private sector, national government and the UN system in mainstreaming sustainability into sector policies and strategies, public sector investment programmes and regional or international policy agendas. She works for the industry and economy division at UNEP. Since joining UNEP in 2010, Djaheezah has held several positions, including in energy and climate policy, UNEP corporate programme performance monitoring and reporting, and global subprogramme coordinator for resource efficiency, finance and economic transformations. Prior to joining UNEP, she worked for three years in environmental consulting in the private sector and for fifteen years in the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Mauritius. Djaheezah has a multidisciplinary background, with degrees in chemistry and environmental studies, in international trade and economic diplomacy and post-graduate diplomas in environmental technology and in environmental management, specialising in solid waste management.
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Rie Vejs Kjeldgaard
Director of the Sustainable Enterprises, Productivity and Just Transition Department
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Rie Vejs Kjeldgaard has held diverse management positions for the ILO throughout Europe and Asia, including in New Delhi, Vietnam, Bangkok and Geneva. Some of her responsibilities have included partnerships and field support, country policy analysis, job quality in micro- and small businesses, and enterprise development. Prior to joining the ILO she worked as head of product and market development in the pharmaceutical industry. Rie is a Danish national with an education background in economics and business administration, with a specialisation in marketing and international business development.
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Harsen Nyambe
Director for Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy
African Union Commission (AUC)
Prior to his current position, Harsen Nyambe served as head of division responsible for environment, climate change, water, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction, forestry, land management, meteorology and wildlife. He has 25 years’ professional experience of which 18 years has been in international organisations. Before joining the AUC, he served the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a senior programme manager responsible for natural resources and the Commonwealth Secretariat as head of climate change. Nyambe has also worked for the government of the Republic of Namibia as a deputy director in the ministry of environment and tourism and in the ministry of agriculture, water and forestry. Furthermore, he was also head of the National Remote Sensing Centre of Namibia and prior to that a lecturer for environmental impact assessment and ecology at the University of Namibia. His passion lies in fostering sustainable natural resources management and building resilience to environmental shocks.
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Cillian Lohan
NAT Vice President
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Cillian Lohan has been an active member of the EESC since 2015 and was vice president for communications from October 2020 to 2023. He has worked extensively in the corporate and environmental sectors. He is a leader in the field of the circular economy and was the inaugural chair of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, which he helped to establish. Cillian Lohan is CEO of the Green Economy Foundation, formerly known as Irish Natural Forestry Foundation.
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Jutta Urpilainen
European Commissioner for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)
European Commission
Jutta Urpilainen oversees the European Commission’s work on international cooperation and sustainable development. Before joining the Commission, she served as a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2019. In 2008, she became the first woman leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. From 2011 to 2014, she served as Finland’s deputy prime minister and finance minister. During that time, she became closely involved in development issues, joining the Development Committee of the World Bank Group and IMF and chairing the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development. She served as the foreign minister’s special representative on mediation (2017-2019) and chaired the Finnish National Commission for UNESCO (2015-2018). Urpilainen was born in 1975. She is married and has two children.