Staying the course: driving sustainability forward in a shifting geopolitical context

Pär Holmgren is a Member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Greens with over 30 years of experience tackling climate issues as a meteorologist, insurance advisor, author and lecturer at most Swedish universities. His deep expertise in climate science has made him a prominent voice in shaping European policy on the environment, agriculture, forestry and energy since joining the Parliament. Now in his second mandate, Pär will continue to advance bold climate action, focusing on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy and enhancing forest governance to maximise carbon sequestration and protect biodiversity.

Veronika Hunt Šafránková is the Head of Brussels Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), working with EU partners in addressing global environmental challenges. Before joining UNEP, she worked for Charles University in Prague, as Director of International Relations and Partnerships. Prior to this, she held different positions at the Czech Ministry of the Environment, responsible for number of areas including international relations, EU legislation and environmental policy. She was involved in the preparations for the Czech accession to the EU and co-ordination of the first Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU in the field of environment.

Dennis Kredler is Senior Director, Government Affairs Europe and Head of the Dow Brussels Office. He is accountable for Dow’s interactions with the EU institutions and its senior relationships and public policy advocacy with the EU institutions and member state governments. Prior to this appointment, he served as Director General of the European Retail Round Table, a group of Chief Executives of Europe’s leading retail companies with operations around the world, and with the European Round Table of Industrialists, a forum of Chairmen and Chief Executives of European multinationals from a wide range of manufacturing and technological sectors. Previous positions were with Deutsche Telekom and Railtrack plc.

Dirk Messner is President of the German Environment Agency, having previously served as Director of the Institute for Environment and Human Security of United Nations University and Vice Rector of the United Nations University. Prior to this, he was Director of the German Development Institute. Messner is an internationally recognised expert on globalisation and global governance, transformation pathways to sustainability, decarbonisation of the global economy, sustainability and digital change, and international cooperation. Messner has also been a member of a number of high-ranking policy advisory councils, including the German Advisory Council on Global Change and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany.

Tamsin Rose is a facilitator who was until recently a senior fellow for health at Friends of Europe. Having studied international relations, she has 25 years of experience working across the European continent from Ireland to Mongolia. A natural communicator, Tamsin has been a radio reporter, worked on press for the EU Delegation in Moscow and is currently a member of the external speaker team for the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication, describing how the EU works and key policies to visitor groups from around the world. Since 2002, she has specialised in public health and public participation issues, serving as the Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), and providing strategic advice for health groups on how to engage successfully with the EU.

Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts is an 18-year-old Belgian climate and children’s rights activist. His activism began at age 12, but became a personal mission after the tragic loss of his close friend Rosa in the floods of 2021. In her memory, he launched the Climate Justice for Rosa campaign to convey that the climate crisis isn’t just about numbers and statistics- it’s about human lives. His advocacy led to the establishment of 15 July as the EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis. In addition to running his non-profit, Benjamin serves as an EU Climate Pact Ambassador and a climate advisor for the Child Rights International Network. He has spoken at major platforms, including COP27, COP28 and COP29, and continues to advocate for climate justice through international events and high-profile litigation. He is a plaintiff in the TotalCriminal case, a groundbreaking lawsuit that seeks to hold TotalEnergies’ executives accountable for their role in contributing to environmental destruction and exacerbating the climate crisis.

Leena Ylä-Mononen has worked with national, European and international environmental policy and administration for over 30 years. Before joining the EEA, Ylä-Mononen was director general at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, where she was in charge of the Ministry’s Climate and Environmental Protection Department, dealing with environmental policy issues and EU files. Prior to joining the Ministry Ylä-Mononen worked in management positions at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, first as a head of unit and then as one of the directors. She also worked at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment, on policy files related to chemicals, pesticides and multilateral environmental agreements related to chemicals.