COP28 negotiations culminated in the UAE Consensus, which calls on signatories to "transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner". This represents the first time that a transition away from fossil fuels has been directly addressed in a COP text. COP28 has also seen announcements covering a wide range of environmental topics, including new commitments to the Loss and Damage Fund, a Joint Statement on Climate, Nature and People and a Declaration on Food and Agriculture. 

A number of IES members attended COP28 in Dubai and in this webinar members who attended will feed back their reflections on the outcomes from COP28 and how they intersect with a number of topics across the sector, including air quality, climate finance, the climate-nature nexus and food systems. 

This event has been organised by the Climate Action Community. Find out more about their work and how you can get involved.

Our speakers

Chelsey Baker, Ocean Biogeochemical Model Analyst at National Oceanography Centre

Chelsey Baker is research scientist at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton with nine years of experience researching the global ocean carbon cycle and how it may change under future climate change. Chelsey has a PhD in observational marine biogeochemistry from the University of Southampton and after receiving her doctorate transitioned to work with ocean models at the National Oceanography Centre to continue her research on ocean carbon storage. More recently she has been using ocean models to assess the efficacy and to understand the impacts of marine carbon dioxide removal techniques, which have been gaining traction in recent years. Chelsey is also starting to link this work to the socio-economic factors and implications
that different marine carbon dioxide removal strategies may have.

Kripa Dwarakanath, Sustainability and Resilience Service Group Manager at GHD

Kripa has a first degree in Architecture and further specialised into environmental planning. She has over nineteen years of post-graduate consultancy experience in sustainability strategy advisory, including the last ten years in climate change mitigation in the development planning policy, water, aviation, built environment, and rail infrastructure sectors.

Kripa worked in India during the early part of her career and has been practicing in the UK since 2005. She lives in Cambridge with her family.

Robbie Epsom, EMEA Head of Sustainability and Senior Director at CBRE Investment Management

As a sustainability leader within the built environment Robbie’s ambition is to harness the scale of the real asset management sector and foster collaboration across the whole value chain; with the ultimate objective of removing barriers and driving systematic and scalable solutions to accelerate the transition to a net zero and sustainable economy. He’s passionate about finding the win-wins for both sustainability and business and to make sure changes are done in the right way with maximum positive impact.

 In his role as EMEA Head of Sustainability and Senior Director at CBRE Investment Management (CBRE IM); he is responsible for the implementation of CBRE IM’s sustainability vision, which underscores the firm’s commitment to be a leader in sustainability. Working closely with the global Sustainability Team and all of the EMEA investor/operator teams, Robbie’s priority is the continued integration and harmonisation of sustainability practices and leadership throughout all five of CBRE IM’s business lines across the EMEA region – Direct Real Estate Strategies, Indirect Real Estate Strategies, Private Infrastructure, Listed Real Assets and Credit Strategies. Robbie is a member of CBRE IM’s European Leadership Team, an executive voting member of both the UK and European Investment Committees and also has a seat on both the UK and EMEA operational risk committees – this puts sustainability at the heart of CBRE IM’s strategic decision making and demonstrates the positive steps the Firm has taken to integrate ESG throughout the investment and risk processes.

He has over 15 years’ experience, including 12 years in Sustainability Consultancy, and holds a MEng (Hons) degree in Chemical Engineering along with a Diploma in Industrial Studies. He is also a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and Fellow of both the Institute of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (FICRS) and Institution of Environmental Sciences (FIEnvSci). As a consultant Robbie supported a wide range of blue-chip companies and major infrastructure projects as they navigated the fast-moving sustainable revolution, drawing on his background in process engineering to help them measure, communicate and manage their ESG risks and opportunities. In addition to his role at CBRE IM he is also a Board Director & Vice-Chair at the ICRS and an Advisory Board member of the International EPD System.

Dr. Chris Hazell-Marshall, Associate Technical Partner at ERM

Chris completed his PhD in Air Quality and Cardiovascular Health Effects in 2000. He started his first consultancy position in 2000 at Entec, moved to Enviros in 2002 and on to ERM in 2007. During his time at ERM he has progressed from Senior Consultant to Associate Technical Partner. He is currently the air quality technical lead for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and he also has a role providing technical direction for projects throughout Asia Pacific and Latin America. Chris’ focus has always been on industrial air quality. He has worked on a wide diversity of projects including metals, mining, power, carbon capture, hydrogen, manufacturing and infrastructure for clients across the world.

His expertise covers emissions inventories, dispersion modelling, impact assessment, ambient monitoring, abatement, mitigation and project design. Chris’ role also intersects with a range of other sustainability and environmental topics, including environmental justice, ecology and biodiversity, Planning, Permitting, and a range of other technical topics.  

Dr. Uchenna Rowland Onyeizu, State Project Coordinator at Livelihood Improvment Family Enterprises - Niger Delta

Uchenna is a Chartered Environmentalist, University Lecturer and currently on secondment to IFAD-funded Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises – Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) Project as Abia State Project Coordinator, on the Board of Trustees for Future Generation University, USA; Chairman - Abia State Chapter of Nigerian Environmental Society (NES); and has a doctoral degree in environmental forest ecology. He has over 25 peer-reviewed academic publications, and is an international development professional with more than 23 years experience. Uchenna has worked at least once in each Nigerian state as an Independent Development Consultant. Uchenna has provided development consultancy services in India, Nepal, United States of America, Rwanda, Cameroon, United Kingdom and Namibia; participated actively at the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya and was one of the representatives of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES), United Kingdom at the just concluded COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirate. 

Uchenna’s skills include an in-depth understanding of community working systems in developing countries; linking policy analysis and emerging issues to plans; understanding of pro-poor and gender issues in development, an excellent team player, good interpersonal, report writing and communication skills.