YOUTH ENGAGEMENT GROUP
Consulting with younger generations is critical for decision-making in climate change. The objectives of the Youth Engagement Group (YEG) are to facilitate a meaningful and constructive contribution regarding the enhancement of emissions reduction and the governance of adaptation, CDR, and SRM, and to enable the Commission to take the diverse perspectives of younger generations into account.
Shirmai Chung
Hong Kong, Sustainable Finance
Shirmai Chung is a sustainability advocate born and raised in Hong Kong. She is pursuing an MPP at the Hertie School as a Sustainability and Energy Policy Scholar. Before moving to Berlin, Shirmai studied Environmental Studies and Government at Wesleyan University. There, she co-founded the university’s Community Fridge Initiative, helped divest a portion of its endowment away from fossil fuels, and taught a student forum on sustainable behaviour and systemic change. Shirmai is interested in contributing non-western perspectives on climate governance.
Alex Clark
United Kingdom, Climate economics & China
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Alex Clark recently completed his PhD at the University of Oxford, where his research focused on fossil-fuel related economic risks, and how governments and their agents should respond to these risks, with a focus on China. Alex has supported Oxford's engagement with stakeholders in China through the Economics of Energy Innovation and Systems Transition (EEIST) project. He is a former visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and Columbia Climate School, a former Global China Initiative Fellow at Boston University, a former Climate Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to his doctoral studies, Alex was a climate finance analyst at the Climate Policy Initiative. He holds an MSc from Oxford University and a BA (Hons) from Warwick University
Louise Mabulo
Philippines, Farming & Food Systems
Louise Mabulo is a chef, farmer, and entrepreneur. She is the Founder of The Cacao Project, which cultivates resilient and Climate-smart livelihoods, positioning farmers for sustainable success in San Fernando, Camarines Sur, Philippines. Louise is a National Geographic Young Explorer, Young Champion of the Earth under the United Nations, a Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 honouree, Young Activist Summit Laureate and an honouree of Tatler’s ‘Generation T’.
Chandelle O'Neil
Trinidad & Tobago, Human Rights
Chandelle O’Neil is a Sustainable Energy Engineer and Human Rights Advocate in Trinidad and Tobago. They graduated with distinction with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Guelph Honours program in 2017. Chandelle completed their post-graduate diploma in Global Leadership from the UN Mandated University for Peace, focused on Regenerative Leadership in 2022. Chandelle is a Climate Reality Leader and Youth Climate Expert, focusing on the intersection of gender and climate change. They are currently the National Director for TT with the International Student Environmental Coalition (ISEC). Chandelle is also a social entrepreneur with their own enterprise, Mawu Energy Services, which supports energy efficiency, sustainable design and resource management established in July 2019
Yuv Sungkur
Mauritius, SIDS
Yuv Sungkur is a Mauritian climate advocate. He is passionate about climate change issues and fighting its impact on Small Islands Developing States. He delivered a TEDx Talk in 2022 and spoke alongside UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2022. He flew to COP 27 in Egypt to represent the interests of Mauritian youth on various climate-related issues (education, climate migration, loss of cultural heritage). Yuv is the founder of a local NGO called Food Water Hygiene (FWH) Mauritius, an organization that aims to support the Mauritian population living in situations of hunger, poverty and inequality by providing food, water and essential hygiene products. He holds an MSc in Global Environmental Governance from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and a BA in Political Science and International from McGill University.
Jeremiah Thoronka
Sierra Leone, Energy poverty
Jeremiah Thoronka is an innovator, Entrepreneur, and Scholar with intimate knowledge of energy, climate change, environment, sustainability, and development. In 2021, he was laureate of the inaugural Global Student Prize and the Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work - Africa; cited for demonstrating exemplary excellence in innovating Clean Energy Systems, promoting Locally Sustainable Solutions, and Youth involvement in the Sustainable Development Goals. He holds an MSc in Sustainability, Energy, and Development from Durham University as a Commonwealth Shared Scholar.