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The High-Level Champions

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At the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, governments agreed that mobilizing stronger and more ambitious climate action was urgently required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

To connect the work of governments with the many voluntary and collaborative actions taken by cities, regions, businesses and investors, nations decided to appoint two High-Level Champions. The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP25 and COP26, Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, established the Climate Champions Team to help deliver on their mandate to enhance ambition and strengthen the engagement of non-State actors in supporting Parties, working with the Marrakech Partnership, to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement. H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak and H.E. Ms. Nigar Arpadarai are the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP28 and COP29.

H.E. Ms. Nigar Arpadarai: UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, COP29

Ms. Arpadarai is an independent Member of Parliament for Azerbaijan, representing one of the central constituencies of Baku city since 2020. She was elected to parliament after 15 years of professional experience in international organizations, sports and telecommunications.

Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, Ms. Arpadarai was the Director of the Marketing and Communications Department and the official spokesperson of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix since its inception in 2016. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in law and international relations from Baku State University.

 

H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak: UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, COP28

Her Excellency Ms. Razan Al Mubarak is a United Arab Emirates native who, for over twenty years, has played a vital role in guiding her country towards a more sustainable future while spearheading progressive environmental protection and species conservation across West Asia and globally.

H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak was elected President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for a four-year term beginning in September 2021. She is the second woman to lead the organization in its 75-year history and its first president from West Asia.

In 2010 she was appointed managing director of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), becoming the youngest person to lead an Abu Dhabi government entity and one of the only women to hold such a position. Under her guidance and leadership, the government agreed to double its protected wildlife areas and adopt the region’s first carbon targets.

H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak is the founding director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, helping to build the organization into one of the world’s most significant philanthropic foundations supporting direct species conservation. Since its inception the MBZ Fund has supported more than 2,500 species conservation projects in over 160 countries, bringing many species back from the brink of extinction.

H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak holds an MSc in Public Understanding of Environmental Change from the University College London, UK and a BA (Hons) in Environmental Studies and International Relations from Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA.

www.razanalmubarak.com

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Our mission is to help accelerate the race to a better world. A zero carbon and resilient world. A healthier, safer, fairer world. A world of wellbeing, abundance and joy, where the air is fresher, our jobs are well-paid and dignified, and our future is clear. To get there we need to run fast, and get faster. We need more and more people to join the race, and right now. This is not about 2050, it’s about today.

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We believe once 20% of key actors within each sector commit to playing their part to transform the sector consistent with the Climate Action Pathways, we have achieved “Breakthrough Ambition”. This means sufficient momentum is generated among a critical mass of key actors, enabling them to break away from the business-as-usual path and together deliver breakthrough outcomes at pace.

 

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