Once a champion, always a champion
Every year when the global community gathers in a host country for the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP), someone from that country is appointed as “champion”. This means they carry significant responsibility to coordinate parties on the ground and ensure the summit is successful.
We will talk to two COP Champions of the past and present: Laurence Tubiana, CEO of our partner the European Climate Foundation and COP Champion 2015/ 2016, and Nigel Topping, former CEO of our partner the We Mean Business coalition and current COP Champion 2020/2021.
Join our Ask an Expert Session on Thursday 19 November at 14:30 CET to listen to a lively conversation between Laurence, Nigel and our Chief Programme Officer Patricia Atkinson about their hopes and dreams for COP26.
Laurence Tubiana is CEO of the European Climate Foundation (ECF). In addition to her role at ECF, she is the Chair of the Board of Governors at the French Development Agency (AFD), and a Professor at Sciences Po, Paris. Before joining ECF, Laurence was France’s Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21, and as such a key architect of the landmark Paris Agreement. Following COP21, she was appointed High-Level Champion for climate action.
Nigel Topping is the UK’s High-Level Climate Action Champion, appointed by the UK Prime Minister in January 2020. Nigel works alongside the Chilean High-Level Climate Action Champion, Gonzalo Muñoz. The role of the high-level champions is to strengthen collaboration and drive action from businesses, investors, organisations, cities, and regions on climate change, and coordinate this work with governments and parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nigel was most recently CEO of the We Mean Business coalition.
Do you have a question for Laurence and Nigel?
Join us during the live session and ask your question in the comments – we’ll do our best to get to as many as possible! Won’t be able to make the session? Comment on the YouTube video, LinkedIn live or Facebook post and we’ll try to get your question answered.
Where can I watch the session?
Join us right back here to watch the session at 14:30 CET on Thursday 19 November, or watch it on our Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn pages.
Season 2 of the IKEA Foundation Podcast is out with curated content from our Ask an Expert sessions released every Friday.
Be sure to subscribe and listen in!
Listen to George Marshall, the founding director of Climate Outreach, speak with Indra Heerkens, communications lead for our Climate Action Portfolio. George and Indra will talk about why it’s so important to reach everyone with the facts about climate change and how governments can engage and motivate the public.
The conversation will be live on 30 September at 4:00pm CET (11:00am EDT). You can ask George questions in the comments during the session, or watch the recording afterwards. We look forward to seeing you there!