Speakers and Moderators
Mr Stanley Loh is Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. He is concurrently Second Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) at the Prime Minister’s Office.
He has previously served as Permanent Secretary (Development) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and the Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social and Family Development where he spearheaded the White Paper on SG Women's Development. He has also served as Singapore's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore's Trade Representative in Taipei, Press Secretary to then Prime Minister and subsequently Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Director-General for Middle East at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chief of Mission in the Singapore Embassy to the USA.
He served as Patron of SingCham from 2012 to 2019 and Member of Lien Fellowship Council 2012 to 2019. He is currently a Member of Centre for Livable Cities Advisory Panel and Senior Advisor to the Temasek Sustainability Advisory Panel.
Sam joined the UK's Department for Business Trade (DBT) in April 2019, where he is responsible for the trade and investment relationship between ASEAN and the UK.
He is based in Singapore and leads a team of 90 staff across the region working in British Embassies and High Commissions to support UK businesses and institutions.
Before joining DBT, Sam worked for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, where he was head of UK Science Policy and Relations.
Sam's Civil Service career began in 2001 as a graduate FastStreamer in the Department for Trade and Industry, where he ran a Minister's Private Office before becoming the Head of External Relations for the Department.
He spent 6 years in Asia with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, boosting science and technology partnerships with Southeast Asia and China.
Sam's structural biology research at Mount Sinai, New York, was published in the journal Science and he has a Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Bath.
For more than 20 years, Razan has played a vital role in guiding the United Arab Emirates toward a more sustainable future while spearheading progressive environmental protection, species conservation, and climate action across West Asia and globally.
Her diverse experience leading the largest environmental regulatory agency in the Middle East, an international philanthropic organization supporting species conservation projects worldwide, and an NGO focused on citizen engagement earned her recognition as one of the top 100 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum in 2018.
Her diverse experience leading the largest environmental regulatory agency in the Middle East, an international philanthropic organization supporting species conservation projects worldwide, and an NGO focused on citizen engagement earned her recognition as one of the top 100 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum in 2018.
Razan is also the founding director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, helping to build the organization into one of the world's largest philanthropic foundations supporting direct species conservation. Since its inception the Fund has supported more than 2,000 species conservation projects in over 160 countries, bringing many species back from the brink of extinction.
She began her career in conservation in 2001 when she helped establish Emirates Nature, an NGO associated with the World Wildlife Fund. As its managing director, she has spearheaded initiatives to protect the UAE's coral, conducted field surveys that led to the establishment of the country's first mountain national park, and created the framework and culture to protect nesting and migrating sea turtles.
Within the UAE, Razan chairs the board of directors for the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture and is a board member for numerous environmental influencers and stakeholders, including Masdar, a renewable energy company based in Abu Dhabi. Internationally, she is an advisory board member of the Rockefeller Foundation Economic Council on Planetary Health, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, and the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, and is a board member of Panthera and the Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy Initiative (WiSER). A keen supporter of the arts, cultural preservation, and development, she serves as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation.
Razan holds an MSc in Public Understanding of Environmental Change from the University College London, UK, where her thesis analysed traditional laws of the sea in the UAE region, and a BA (Hons) in Environmental Studies and International Relations from Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA.
Professor Low Teck Seng is Senior Vice President (Sustainability and Resilience) at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation (2012 – 2022), Prof Low has played a defining role in charting Singapore's R&D roadmap, promoting, managing and coordinating R&D efforts across the nation and driving the development and implementation of three national Research, Innovation and Enterprise plans.
Prof Low was previously the Managing Director of A*STAR (2010 – 2012), the founding Principal of Republic Polytechnic (2002 – 2008), as well as the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at NUS (1998 – 2000).
In recognition of his exceptional contributions to the strategic development of Singapore through the promotion and management of R&D, Prof Low was awarded the National Science and Technology Medal in 2004. In 2007, he was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) by the President of Singapore for his outstanding contributions to the development of technical education and the management of science and technology for the nation. In 2016, he was conferred the Order of the Legion of Honour with the grade of Knight (Chevalier) by the French Government.
Prof Low is Chairman of the Singapore Maritime Institute, a Fellow of the Singapore Academy of Engineers, Fellow of the IEEE, and an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers, UK.
Professor Koh Lian is Vice Dean (Research) at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Science, where he is also the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Chair Professor of Conservation. He is the Director of the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, Director of the Tropical Marine Science Institute and Co-Director of NUS Deltares.
Prof Koh has twenty years of international research experience in the field of sustainability and environmental science, having worked in institutions across Europe, Australia, the United States and Singapore. Prof Koh is also passionate about facilitating collaborative efforts to address the world's urgent environmental challenges. He plays an advisory role across both the public and private sectors. He is an International Advisory Council Member of Climate Impact X, Distinguished Advisory Group Member of The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market and Natural Climate Solutions Initiative Advisory Group Member of Procter & Gamble.
Patrick is a Managing Director and Asia Chair of Pollination. Prior to Pollination, Patrick worked on international climate, foreign, trade and investment and aid policy at the highest levels of government. He supported two Australian Prime Ministers’ engagement with Japan, including negotiating the FTA and the Australia-Japan CEO Forum. As former Ambassador for the Environment he led for Australia on Paris Agreement negotiations, strategy for Australia’s $1 billion climate finance commitment, and development of climate cooperation with key countries such as China, India and Japan, including working closely with the Japanese government and Companies on the Paris Agreement and on commercial engagement with Australia. He Chaired the Umbrella Group of influential developed countries in the UNFCCC for nearly four years through the difficult but successful negotiation of the implementing rules for the Paris Agreement. Patrick was formally Australia’s High Commissioner to India, an advisor to the Australian Foreign Minister and Counsellor at the Australian embassy in Washington.
Erika is CI's Strategic Advisor Nature Markets and Finance, supporting CI's global conservation finance work in the innovative space of nature and biodiversity markets. Erika joined CI in 2023 with a background spanning over two decades in corporate, philanthropic and not for profit sectors working on strategy, governance, disclosure, impact investment and action across multiple dimensions of the sustainability agenda. She has broad and deep experience across aspects including biodiversity, nature based solutions, climate change mitigation and adaptation and water stewardship. Erika has successfully led numerous global collaborations to drive systems change and deliver sustainable outcomes for the planet and people.
Mikkel Larsen is the Chief Executive Officer of Climate Impact X (CIX), a global marketplace, auctions house and exchange for trusted carbon credits based in Singapore. He is responsible for developing and executing CIX's vision to scale carbon markets through transparency and integrity; as well as build trust for and bring to market the next wave of impactful carbon credit solutions.
Mikkel was one of the early pioneers of the international Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and of Singapore's Emerging Stronger Taskforce, a public-private partnership to develop a more carbon-conscious society. Prior to his current role, he was the Group Chief Sustainability Officer and chair of the Sustainability Council at DBS Bank. He has also held leadership positions at UBS, Citigroup and KPMG in Europe.
Mikkel is involved in numerous international and Singaporean sustainability-related councils and committees. These include: the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market; World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Natural Climate Solutions Alliance (NCS Alliance); and World Wildlife Fund Advisory Council (Singapore), amongst others.
Mr Rueban Manokara is Assistant Director (Global Partnerships) from the National Climate Change Secretariat in the Strategy Group, Prime Minister's Office, Singapore. He is Singapore's lead negotiator for Article 6 at the UNFCCC and coordinates Singapore's international strategy on climate change. Prior to that, Rueban has served in the Singapore Armed Forces, as well as the Ministry of Defence.
Alfredo is the Head of the World Economic Forum'’s Ocean Action Agenda and Friends of Ocean Action, leading strategy across a wide range of ocean work. The Ocean Action Agenda work aims to create business and policy transformations for a sustainable ocean. He has wide experience spearheading the creation of public-private partnerships to address pressing ocean challenges related to marine conservation and restoration, sustainable fisheries management, and accelerating the blue economy. His work has contributed to strengthening the role of science in marine policy in over 15 countries. Before joining the Forum, Alfredo was an André Hoffmann fellow at the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), where he led the creation of scientific and technological solutions to combat illegal fishing. He holds a PhD and MSc from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a Bachelor in Science from the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California. He was selected as the Roger Revelle awardee by the US National Academy of Sciences in 2021 for his contributions to global ocean policy.
Jade is a director in the Sustainability Services team for KPMG Singapore.With over 13 years sustainability experience, Jade leverages on a broad sustainability background in sustainability and climate change strategies, renewable energy projects and carbon markets. She has worked within private and public markets alongside governments, multilateral institutions, companies and private investors throughout Africa and the ASEAN region advising on key climate instruments and mechanisms including governance aspects of GHG accounting, reporting and review, climate finance and carbon markets. Whilst at SGX, Jade was the lead representative on the World Bank Climate Warehouse consultation providing key insights from a Singapore ecosystem perspective and was the alternate for the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures to provide key insights for the development of the framework, metrics and targets as well as capacity building and alignment of the TNFD to the Singapore and broader ASEAN ecosystem strategy.
Director of the Centre of International Law at the National University of Singapore; member of the UN International Law Commission (ILC); Co-chair of the Study Group on sea-level rise in relation to international law; Chairperson of the 74th session of the ILC; climate change negotiator for Turkish MFA; appeared before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; Distinguished Fellow of the Law of the Sea Institute, UC Berkeley Law; member of the Committee of Legal Experts of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law; Steering Committee of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law; Series Editor of the International Straits of the World series; member of board of editors of several academic journals.
Dr. Siti Maryam Yaakub is a marine ecologist and works across tropical marine and coastal habitats. Her work and research interests broadly lie in the areas of ecosystem restoration, and nature-based solutions for adaptation and mitigation in marine environments. Within this, she is specifically interested in using seagrass habitats as a model system for understanding ecological thresholds to stress, ecosystem resilience, and the effects of human activities and climate change on the marine environment. Dr Siti is currently a Senior Director at the International Blue Carbon Institute, a program under Conservation International's Oceans and Innovation division.
Ms Pamela Lee, is the Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Prior to her appointment as Dy CSO, Pamela was Head (Green Finance and Asset Management), Financial Markets Development Department within the MAS. A member of the Singapore Public Service's Administrative Service, Pamela has held various appointments within the Singapore Public Service including in the Ministry of Trade & Industry, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Manpower and the Public Service Division. From 2017 to 2020, she was Director (Policy & Planning) within the National Climate Change Secretariat, Strategy Group, Prime Minister's Office, where she oversaw efforts to enhance Singapore's 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement and the development of Singapore's 2050 Long Term Low Emissions Development Strategy.
Herlina Hartanto, PhD. is the Executive Director of the Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN). YKAN is the main partner of The Nature Conservancy in Indonesia. She leads a team of 100+ people to conserve and support sustainable management of tropical rainforests and marine ecosystems in Indonesia, including work with local communities, companies, and local and national governments. Her wealth of experience includes community-centered approaches to forest conservation, sustainable forest management, and climate change mitigation.
Prior to YKAN, Herlina spent eight years as a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), where she undertook research in several countries on sustainable forest management and collaborative management and monitoring of community forests. She has published several journal articles and book chapters. She earned a PhD from Monash University, Australia, where she studied the political ecology of customary forest institutions in Central Sumatra, Indonesia.
Thomas Brzostowski is the Interim Singapore Country Director, where he oversees one of The Nature Conservancy's newest country program offices and teams, working to help support Singapore in achieving its climate and sustainability aspirations.
Tom is a trained scientist, philanthropy and conservation professional and non-profit executive leader with more than 13 years of experience working for international environmental organizations in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. His passion lies in developing transformational partnerships with philanthropists, foundations, companies, governments and impact investors to achieve mutual goals and aspirations to address the global biodiversity and climate crises and build a future where both people and nature thrive.
Wilfrid Goh is the Head of Public Sector Solutions Asia excluding China at Swiss Re. Within this role, Wilfrid builds and manages relationships with a diverse range of Public Sector Entities. This partnership aims to provide risk insights and risk transfer solutions that will further strengthen the resilience of communities, businesses, and individuals.
Over the last 18 years in the reinsurance industry, Wilfrid has garnered skills and knowledge across Client Relationship Management and Treaty Underwriting roles. Core underwriting experience has been centered in Property & Engineering Treaty with the main markets being India and Southeast Asia. This has been further complemented with backgrounds in other lines of business, namely Marine and Casualty, as well as in non-traditional structured solutions.
Wilfrid attained a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Statistics from The University of Melbourne.
Yann is an Associate Professor at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and Princip[al Investigator at the Singapore Center for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE). He was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta and a Senior Fellow of the Integrated Microbial Biodiversity (IMB) Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). He holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from Université Laval and obtained his Ph.D in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Dalhousie University, both in Canada. He moved to Australia to study mobile genetic elements as a Macquarie University Research Fellow before going to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a Merck-MIT Computational and Systems Biology Fellow. He specializes in evolution, taxonomy and epidemiology of human bacterial pathogens.