About us

Theory of Change

The Future of Climate Cooperation coordinates experts, practitioners, policymakers, and thought-leaders to co-create and catalyse innovative climate policy ideas internationally.

Project Summary

The Future of Climate Cooperation, an initiative fiscally sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, aims to identify how international cooperation can help drive decarbonisation, adapt to climate impacts, and build resilience. It was launched in 2020 in partnership with Oxford University and the ClimateWorks Foundation.

The 1992 United Nations Framework on Climate Change and the 2015 Paris Agreement provided a broad framework for climate action. However, we see a need to drive climate action at a greater speed, scale, and depth of transformation. To succeed, we need better global governance systems and more effective international climate cooperation in the decades to come.

Our multi-year initiative aims to better understand what institutional changes will be required for the international climate change regime to meet its stated objectives. It takes a systematic approach to identify critical gaps and weaknesses, as well as to put in place the institutional architecture that delivers effective climate action in the decades to come.

Meet our

Team

Jason
Anderson

Advisory Group Chair

Daouia
Chalali

Project Assistant, Declaration on Future Generations

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Jason Anderson

Advisory Group Chair

Jason is a Senior Program Director at ClimateWorks Foundation in San Francisco. His work spans efforts ranging from advancing the Paris Agreement, to cleaning up maritime shipping and preventing methane leakage. Jason was a lead author of the IPCC special reports on ozone and climate interactions, and on carbon capture and storage. He earned degrees in public policy and energy and resources from U.C. Berkeley, and in biological anthropology from Harvard University.

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Daouia Chalali

Project Assistant, Declaration on Future Generations

Daouia is a passionate Foresight Practitioner. She has worked with international companies to promote Foresight methodologies. She has actively built Foresight networks in Paris, collaborating with over 50 prominent companies and institutions. Her expertise lies in Global Health and Corporate Geopolitics, explored in her graduation thesis and at the French Mission to the UN Geneva. She holds a triple Master’s Degree in International Relations, MBA, and Public Administration.

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Thomas Hale

Project Director

Dr. Thomas Hale’s research explores how we can manage transnational problems effectively and fairly. He seeks to explain how political institutions evolve--or not--to face the challenges raised by globalization and interdependence, with a particular emphasis on environmental, economic, and health issues. He holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University, a masters degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics, and an AB in public policy from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. A US national, Dr. Hale has studied and worked in Argentina, China, and Europe. His books include Beyond Gridlock (Polity 2017), Between Interests and Law: The Politics of Transnational Commercial Disputes (Cambridge 2015), Transnational Climate Change Governance (Cambridge 2014), and Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation Is Failing when We Need It Most (Polity 2013). Dr. Hale leads the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker.

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Andrew Higham

Project Director

Andrew Higham is a strategist who has worked across diverse sectors, policy domains and all levels of government for two decades, most recently in shaping international climate change policy. Within the UNFCCC from 2011-2016, Andrew drove the strategy for reaching a universal, legally binding agreement. He provided the strategic and negotiating support to South Africa in 2011 and drafted the Durban Mandate at COP 17, was the Secretary to the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform during its first two years, and then managed the large drafting and advisory team that developed and delivered the Paris Agreement. In 2016, he was invited by the UNFCCC Executive Secretary to take on the role of Chief Executive of Mission 2020 and focused on driving down global emissions at the pace and scale required by science for full decarbonisation by 2050. Through his leadership, the Mission 2020 campaign has been credited with many achievements across all areas of global climate action. In 2008-2010, he designed and delivered by COP 16 the Technology Mechanism under the Convention, and undertook research designing financial instruments to support international climate action, including precursors for the Green Climate Fund. He is presently Special Advisor to the UNFCCC High Level Climate Champions, Director of the Future of Climate Cooperation initiative and Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, a partner of Global Optimism, Strategic Advisor to the Earth4All initiative, and Managing Director of Plexus Strategy. He is also a member of the Urban Leadership Council.
He has extensive experience in driving policy reforms and delivering complex policy initiatives in the fields of science, technology, natural resources and environment policy. Previous roles include: International Expert in Climate Policy at the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands; Strategies Director and Vice President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, and Manager of the Western Australian Office of Climate Change. He also worked as a senior policy advisor to political leaders in Australia, where he designed and implemented policies and programmes in various fields.

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Kennedy
Mbeva

 Project Lead, Global Economic Governance

Claudette
Salinas Levya

Project Assistant, Declaration on Future Generations

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Kennedy Mbeva

Project Lead, Global Economic Governance

Kennedy Mbeva (PhD) is a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, and Research Fellow and Member of the Governing Body at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. His research focuses on the governance of global catastrophic risk, focusing on climate change and geoeconomics. Dr Mbeva has contributed to high-profile UN reports such as the IPCC AR6 and the Adaptation Gap Report and served on Kenya’s delegation to the UN Climate Change negotiations. A Kenyan national, he holds a PhD in International Relations (distinction) from the University of Melbourne and has studied and worked in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His latest book is "Africa’s Right to Development in a Climate-Constrained World" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, co-authored).

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Claudette Salinas Levya

Project Assistant, Declaration on Future Generations

Claudette is a Project Assistant in the Declaration on Future Generations working group. She specializes in future generations policy and is a Next Generation Fellow at the United Nations Foundation, leading the Task Force on Future Generations. With a summa cum laude Law degree from ITAM, Claudette has experience in research and advocacy within the multilateral system.

Daouia Chalali
Photo of Jason Anderson

Andrew
Higham

Project Director

Thomas
Hale

Project Director

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Mathilde
Mansoz

Operations Manager

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Mathilde Mansoz

Operations Manager

Mathilde has been helping complex and high-level multi-stakeholder projects and partnerships across the private sector and not-for-profit over the past twenty years, including the Mission 2020 Campaign and related-initiatives through its fiscal sponsor, the New Venture Fund and the International Policy and Politics Initiative hosted by the European Climate Foundation. These two initiatives were dedicated to support the development and implement the UNFCCC Paris Agreement across the climate community and beyond. Prior to being involved in the climate community, Mathilde worked in the movie industry. She developed and led the Operations department of the UK branch of Lionsgate and managed dubbing processes of Walt Disney feature animations for international releases.

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Cherono
Sego

Associate

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Cherono Sego

Associate

Cherono is a Senior Program Associate in the International Engagement and Non-CO2 portfolios at ClimateWorks Foundation where she brings over four years of experience in global environmental policy and multi-lateral environmental engagement. She holds a Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a concentration in Energy and Climate.

Advisory Group

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Photo of Rishikesh Ram Bhandary
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Steven Bernstein

University of Toronto

Steven Bernstein is Distinguished Professor of Global Environmental and Sustainability Governance, University of Toronto. He is a professor in the Department of Political Science and Co-Director of the Environmental Governance Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He also co-edits the journal Global Environmental Politics and is a lead faculty member of the Earth Systems Governance Project.

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Rishikesh Ram Bhandary

Boston University Global Development Policy Center

Rishikesh Ram Bhandary is the Assistant Director of the Global Economic Governance Initiative at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. He previously worked as a post-doctoral scholar at the Climate Policy Lab in the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He is also a member of the Task Force on Climate, Development and the International Monetary Fund.

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Photo of Nisreen Elsaim

Ayman
Cherkaoui

Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection

Nisreen
Elsaim

UN Secretary-General Youth
Advisory Group on Climate Change

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Photo of Ramiro Fernández

Dr. Janine Felson

Permanent Mission of Belize to
the United Nations | Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute

Ramiro
Fernández

High Level Climate Champions |
Fundacion Avina

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Dr. Janine Felson

Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nations | Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute

Janine Felson is a research fellow with the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. Prior to joining MSSI, Janine served as a senior diplomat in the foreign service of the Government of Belize. From 2019-2020, Janine was the principal negotiator and political strategist on behalf of the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States. Janine received her juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin School of Law in Madison, Wisconsin and her Certificate of Legal Education from the Norman Manley Law School in Kingston, Jamaica. She is admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Bar Association of Belize. In 2007, the Government of Belize conferred upon Janine the title of Ambassador.

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Ramiro Fernández

High Level Climate Champions | Fundacion Avina

Ramiro Fernandez is Director of Climate Change at Fundacion Avina. For over 15 years he has worked together with allied organizations to promote public-private partnerships towards sustainable development in Latin America. The Climate Change Strategy at Avina is conceived as a cross-cutting issue, introducing it in all of its Programs and Opportunities for systemic change, as a means to encourage sustainable development policies. Ramiro has been leading this initiative inside the organization, developing different strategies to include the Climate Change variable in different agendas, and representing Avina in World Forums and international negotiations.

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Lolita
Jackson

Sustainable Development Capital LLP

Rajiv S.
Joshi

Bridging Ventures

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Heeta Lakhani

ClimACT Initiative

Heeta is a climate educator from Mumbai, India and holds Masters of Science in Environmental Studies and Resource Management from TERI University, New Delhi. She was introduced to the world of international climate negotiations at the UNFCCC COP21 in 2015. Since then, she has been active at the local as well as international level, advocating for and working towards creating change-makers who take knowledge-based action in order to combat the climate crisis. At COP25 in Madrid, Heeta was elected the Global Focal Point for YOUNGO, the official Children and Youth constituency of the UNFCCC for 2020-2021, along with Marie-Claire Graf.

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Bernice Lee

Chatham House

Bernice Lee is Founding Director at Hoffmann Centre on the Sustainable Resource Economy, Chatham House, United Kingdom. She was Director for Climate Change and Resource Security Initiatives at the World Economic Forum (2014-2016) and Research Director for Energy, Environment and Resources at Chatham House – Royal Institute of International Affairs (2007-2013). She was also a member of the Climate Change Advisory Board of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the Queen Elizabeth Academy of International Leadership and the External Review Committee of Royal Dutch Shell. Bernice holds degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Oxford University, where she was a College Scholar for three years. Bernice was awarded an OBE for services to UK-China climate change cooperation in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2011.

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Dr. Shehnaaz Moosa

Nick
Mabey

E3G

Dr. Shehnaaz
Moosa

SouthSouthNorth

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Nick Mabey

E3G

Nick Mabey is a founder director of E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism) and has been E3G’s Chief Executive since 2006. In addition to his leadership role, Nick directly works on issues of climate diplomacy and foreign policy, macroeconomics and the security implications of climate change and resource scarcity. Nick undertakes a range of other roles including advising the UK COP President as a Friend of COP 26, a London Sustainable Development Commissioner, a trustee of Ashden, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy Transition. Nick has a degree in mechanical engineering from Bristol University and a Masters in Technology and Policy from MIT. He began his career working in the UK electricity industry for GEC and PowerGen.

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Dr. Shehnaaz Moosa

SouthSouthNorth

Shehnaaz oversees the finance hub at SouthSouthNorth, and is the Director of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) programme. Previously, Shehnaaz was the African Regional Coordinator for CDKN (2013-2017) and the Climate Resilience Lead for the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF). Shehnaaz has overseen SSN’s Southern Africa Climate Finance Partnership (SACFP) programme since 2016. She has deep theoretical and practical expertise in delivering complex programmes addressing climate change within the African context. Prior to joining SSN, Shehnaaz was a researcher and lecturer in the department of Chemical Engineering at University of Cape Town.

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Dr. Cosmas
Ochieng

World Resources Institute

Dr. Robert
Orr

University of Maryland

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Asad
Rehman

War on Want

Sue
Reid

Global Optimism

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Richard
Samans

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Dominique
Souris

Youth Climate Lab

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Katherine
Stodulka

Quadrature Climate Foundation

Steve
Waygood

Aviva Investors

Rishikesh Ram
Bhandary

Boston University Global
Development Policy Center

Steven
Bernstein

University of Toronto

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Nisreen Elsaim

UN Secretary General Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change

Nisreen Elsaim is a Sudanese activist very committed to climate issues. Coming from a country plagued by the adverse effects of climate change, she has been an activist on climate issues since 2012. In August 2020, she was appointed Chair of the UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, Climate and Security. Nisreen Holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in renewable energy from the University of Khartoum.

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Ayman Cherkaoui

Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection

Ayman Cherkaoui is the Coordinator for the Mohammed VI Prize for the Climate and Sustainable Development as well as Strategic Development Officer at the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection and Deputy Chair for the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law for the 2021-2024 Mandate. Ayman is also Regional Facilitator of Major Groups and Stakeholders, Africa, elected by African organizations accredited to UNEP.

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Rajiv S. Joshi

Bridging Ventures

Rajiv is an economist, systems thinker, and community organizer working on climate change, economic transformation, and human rights. He is a Lead Author of the Decisive Decade Inquiry on the Future of Climate Action, commissioned by the Chief Architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, Christiana Figueres. Rajiv has served as the President & Executive Director of Project Regeneration and as the inaugural Associate Dean for Climate Action at Columbia University’s Climate School. He continues to serve as Co-Chair of the Earth Network on the Social Climate and as an Adjunct Professor at the School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA) where he instructs graduate students in issues including climate change policy, technology, AI and regenerative entrepreneurship, while judging the SIPA policy challenge. Rajiv helped to establish The B Team, serving as its first Managing Director. He is the Founder of Bridging Ventures, a collective that drives collaboration and partnerships to address complex challenges.

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Lolita Jackson

Sustainable Development Capital LLP

Lolita Jackson MBE is the Executive Director of Communications & Sustainable Cities and is the link to governments around the world, also working on media relations, COP, UN and climate and business network engagement. Lolita previously worked for the NYC Mayor’s Office for 15 years in a variety of roles. She last served as the Special Advisor for Climate Policy & Programs, where she was the climate diplomat for NYC and lead for the administration regarding global work on divestment and climate finance. She is an alumna of the Penn School of Engineering, majoring in Applied Science with a concentration in Chemical Engineering.

Bernice
Lee

Chatham House

Heeta
Lakhani

ClimACT Initiative

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Dr. Robert Orr

University of Maryland

Robert C. Orr serves as UMD School of Public Policy dean, United Nations under secretary-general, and special advisor to the UN secretary-general on climate change. He is also past president and current executive committee member of NASPAA, the global association of public policy, affairs and administration schools. He has served in senior posts in the government of the United States, including deputy to the United States ambassador to the United Nations and director of global affairs at the National Security Council, where he was responsible for peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs.

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Dr. Cosmas Ochieng

World Resources Institute

Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng is a global development and environmental specialist. Prior to joining WRI, he was the Director of the African Natural Resources Centre at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Cosmas has held teaching, research and policy positions in a number of think tanks, universities, international organizations and NGOs. Cosmas holds a DPhil in Development Studies from Oxford University, an MPhil in Development Studies from Cambridge University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyatta University.

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Sue Reid

Global Optimism

Solutions-oriented advocate and specialist focused on scaling investment in climate solutions. Also an adjunct faculty member teaching Climate Change Law at Boston College Law School. Current portfolio includes driving ambition of the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), as well as spurring financial institution uptake of The Climate Pledge, as a senior finance advisor at Global Optimism. Previous roles include co-lead of the High Level Climate Action Champions Finance Team in the run-up to COP26 and senior finance advisor at Mission2020. Also served as Vice President of Climate & Energy at Ceres.

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Asad Rehman

War on Want

Asad Rehman is the executive director of War on Want, where he organizes to put an end to poverty and injustice. Prior, he was the head of international climate at Friends of the Earth. Rehman has over 25 years of experience in the non-government and charity sector. He has served on boards of Amnesty International UK, Friends of the Earth International, Global Justice Now, and Newham Monitoring Project.

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Dominique Souris

Youth Climate Lab

Dominique Souris (she/her) is passionate about the intersections of climate justice, social innovation and climate finance. In her time as co-founder & executive director of Youth Climate Lab, she led the design, partnerships and fundraising of YCL’s projects, which have engaged youth in 77+ countries, supported nearly 50 youth-led climate ventures, and sparked close to 100 policy ideas. Dominique has been named among the Top 21 Founders to Watch by Future of Good, Top 100 Visionary Leaders by Real Leaders and Top 25 Environmentalists in Canada by the Starfish. She is a Board Member of the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices and the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship, and is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers, the Smart Prosperity’s Leaders Initiative and SDSN-Canada Leadership Council.

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Richard Samans

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Richard Samans is an internationally-recognized expert on strengthening the growth and development prospects of economies through fundamental improvement in their social inclusion and environmental sustainability. He has proposed corresponding structural reforms of macroeconomic theory and policy, corporate governance, and the international economic architecture, which he characterizes as an agenda to adapt the “source code” and “operating system” of market economies to 21st century circumstances, thereby improving their social and political cohesion as well as growth. A former senior US government official and international organization chief executive, he is the author of numerous publications, including Human-Centred Economics: The Living Standards of Nations, which the Financial Times selected as one of the best books of 2024 on Economics. Open access from: richardsamans.net. Richard Samans currently serves as Senior Economic Adviser to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Special Advisor to the United Nations Economist Network, Nonresident Senior Fellow of The Brookings Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Geneva Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies.

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Steve Waygood

Aviva Investors

Steve leads Aviva Investors' Global Responsible Investment team, which is responsible for integrating environmental social and corporate governance (ESG) issues across all asset classes and regions of c£350bn of assets under management. Steve has recently been appointed to the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on sustainable finance, and the UK Green Finance Taskforce, and is also a member of the Financial Stability Board Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). He is a faculty member at the International Corporate Governance Network and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. He is also a Visiting Professor of Sustainable Finance at Cass Business School.

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Katherine Stodulka

Quadrature Climate Foundation

Katherine is a Director at the Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF) where she leads the adaptation & resilience programme, designing high-impact funding strategies to tackle climate vulnerability. Katherine started her career as an M&A lawyer in Australia. Before moving to QCF, Katherine was the head of Sustainable Finance at climate advisory firm, Systemiq, where she worked with public, private and philanthropic clients in emerging markets to mobilise capital for climate action. Katherine Chairs the Blended Finance Taskforce, a global network which works to unlock catalytic climate finance solutions and structure largescale blended funds for clean energy, infrastructure and nature. She is a founding member of the Global Capacity Building Coalition, part of the Independent High Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, is in the Expert Advisory Group for the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action and is on the JUST Stories Advisory Council. Katherine was named Environmental Finance’s “Net Zero Champion of the Year” for her work helping structure the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the Just Energy Transition Partnerships in South Africa and Indonesia.

This project was launched by :

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