The Early Warnings For All Initiative Advisory Panel
In March 2022, United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, unveiled the "Early Warnings for All" initiative with the goal of ensuring that every person on Earth is safeguarded by early warning systems by 2027. To ensure the effective execution and strategic coherence of these efforts, an Advisory Panel was established, co-chaired by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The composition of the Panel is deliberately diverse, encompassing both public and private sector representatives, as well as civil society and youth. This aims to actively engage all stakeholders in the implementation process and the attainment of the UN Secretary-General's objective by December 2027.
The Advisory Panel is charged with the following key objectives:
- Assess the progress of the Early Warnings for All initiative in alignment with its established goals and targets.
- Cultivate political and broader support for the Early Warnings for All initiative to generate momentum.
- Offer comprehensive recommendations for the mobilization of necessary resources.
- Monitor advancements in scientific and technical aspects related to early warning systems.
The Panel will provide annual progress reports to the UN Secretary-General, preceding the annual Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP) meetings and produce specialized thematic reports.
Celeste Saulo
Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization
Prof. Celeste Saulo serves as the first female and South American Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations specialized agency on weather, climate, and water. Her prior role as Director of Argentina's National Meteorological Service saw her lead significant modernization efforts, enhancing observation, forecasting, communication, and early warning systems. She is driven to deliver meaningful climate action for WMO Members and tackle the unequal impact of extreme weather worldwide by ensuring that early warning systems protect everyone on Earth. Additionally, she champions the establishment of a Global Greenhouse Gas Watch aimed at guiding policies for emission reduction with precise, data-driven insights.
Kamal Kishore
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction
Mr. Kamal Kishore is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Mr. Kishore brings nearly three decades of experience in disaster risk reduction, climate action and sustainable development at the global, regional, national and local levels, having worked in government, the United Nations and civil society organizations. Prior to joining UNDRR, Mr. Kishore was the Head of Department of the National Disaster Management Authority of India, where he led the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction and contributed to the development of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Mr. Kishore spent nearly 13 years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, Geneva, and New Delhi where he contributed to advancing policy and supported post-disaster recovery. Prior to UNDP, he served as Director of Information and Research, and Manager of Extreme Climate Events Programme at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok and as an Architect at the Action Research Unit for Development in New Delhi where he worked on post-earthquake reconstruction projects.
Jagan Chapagain
Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Mr. Jagan began his career in the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) as a youth volunteer with the Nepal Red Cross where he represented and advocated on behalf of communities. He has more than 25 years of experience working across Europe and Asia for the IFRC. Prior to being appointed Secretary General, he served as Under Secretary General for Programmes and Operations and guided our relief and development efforts around the world. Mr. Chapagain was also previously Chief of Staff and Director of the Asia Pacific region, where he provided leadership during large-scale humanitarian crises and built resilient communities in partnership with National Societies and regional partners.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union
Ms. Bogdan-Martin has over two decades of leadership experience in global telecommunications policy and has emphasized the need for digital transformation to achieve economic prosperity, job economies, reduce climate impact, and save lives. Her historic election by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Member States in September 2022 made Ms. Bodgan-Martin the first woman ever to head the 157-year-old organization. Known for mobilizing innovative partnerships, she aims promote meaningful connectivity, intensify cooperation to connect the unconnected, and strengthen the alignment of digital technologies with inclusive sustainable development.
Selwin Hart
Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Action and Just Transition
Mr. Selwin Hart has been appointed as Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General of the Climate Action Team on 4 February 2020. Previously, Selwin Hart served as the Executive Director for the Caribbean region at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Prior to this, Mr. Hart served in several climate change leadership positions throughout his career. He was also a member of the Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund Board from 2009 to 2010 and was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to serve as Vice-Chairman of the 2nd Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (Economic and Financial) during its 60th Session.
Achim Steiner
Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
Mr. Achim Steiner was appointed United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator on 19 June 2017. He is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which unites 40 entities of the UN system that work to support sustainable development. Prior to joining UNDP, he was Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, University of Oxford. Mr. Steiner has served across the United Nations system. He led the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), helping governments invest in clean technologies and renewable energy. He was also Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. Mr. Steiner previously held other notable positions including Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams.
Inger Andersen
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
Ms. Inger Andersen is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Before that Ms. Andersen was the Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She has also held several leadership positions at the World Bank, including Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa, Vice President for Sustainable Development, and Head of the CGIAR Fund Council. Prior to working for the World Bank, Ms. Andersen worked for the United Nations, first on drought and desertification, beginning with the UN Sudano-Sahelian Office. In 1992, she was appointed United Nations Development Programme’s Water and Environment Coordinator for the Arab Region.
Sima Bahous
Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
Ms. Sima Bahous was appointed as Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in 2021. Before that, she served as Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations in New York. Prior to this position, she served as Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme) (2012-2016) and Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Development Sector at the League of Arab States, (2008-2012). She has also served in two ministerial posts in Jordan as President of the Higher Media Council (2005-2008) and as Adviser to King Abdullah II (2003-2005). She was Media Adviser and Director of Communication for the Royal Hashemite Court (2001-2003), Acting Executive Director for the King Hussein Foundation (200-2001) and Executive Director of the Noor Al Hussein Foundation(1998-2001). She also worked for UNICEF and with a number of United Nations and civil society organizations, and taught development and communication studies at different universities in Jordan.
Rabab Fatima
Under Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
Ms. Rabab Fatima was appointed as the Under Secretary-General and High Representative in 2022. Ms. Fatima has over 30 years of experience in national and international Civil Service. She is also the current Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York. Prior to this position, she was the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan (2016-2019), Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh (2015-2016), Regional Representative for South Asia (2007-2011) and Regional Adviser for South and Southwest Asia and Regional Adviser for Climate Change and Migration (2012-2015) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva and Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London (2006-2007). Ms. Fatima also served in various capacities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in Bangladesh Missions in New York, Kolkata, Geneva and Beijing.
Oscar Fernández-Taranco
Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination
Mr. Oscar Fernández-Taranco was appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination in 2022. Prior to this, he served as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Strengthening Programmatic Integration (2021-2022), Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (2014-2021) and Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs in the then Department of Political Affairs (2009-2014). He also served as United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in the United Republic of Tanzania. He previously served as Deputy Special Representative of the Administrator in the West Bank and Gaza Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (1994-1998), Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Regional Director in the Regional Bureau for Arab States, UNDP (2001-2006), and Resident Representative, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti (1998-2001). He also worked as Country Programme Officer with the United Nations Capital Development Fund and World Food Programme, covering countries in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. He started his career in the United Nations as a United Nations Volunteer in Benin.
Martin Griffiths
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Mr. Martin Griffiths was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in 2021. Since 2018 he served as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen. Between 2014 and 2018, he served as the first Executive Director of the European Institute of Peace. Between 2012 and 2014, he served as an adviser to all three Special Envoys of the Secretary-General for Syria, and Deputy Head of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). From 1999 to 2010, Mr. Griffiths was the founding Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva. Mr. Griffiths also worked in the British diplomatic service and for various international humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF, Save the Children and Action Aid. In 1994 he became the Director of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and, from 1998 to 1999, served as Deputy to the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator in New York. He has also served as United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Great Lakes and in the Balkans.
Catherine Russell
Executive Director of UNICEF
Ms. Catherine Russell serves as UNICEF’s 8th Executive Director, overseeing the organization’s work for children in over 190 countries and territories. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms. Russell served most recently in the U.S. Government as Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. She previously served as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global women’s Issues, in which post she integrated issues affecting women and girls across all elements of U.S. foreign policy. She served previously as Deputy Assistant to the President under President Barack Obama, and Senior Advisor on International Women’s Issues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Ms. Russell has already served on the boards of numerous organizations including the Women’s Foreign Policy Group and Women for Women International.
Mafalda Duarte
Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund
Ms. Mafalda Duarte is the Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest multilateral climate fund, since August 1, 2023. For decades, Mafalda has challenged business as usual to drive innovative and pioneering development and climate-responsive investments globally. Before her current role, Mafalda was CEO of the Climate Investment Funds, where she steered a multibillion-dollar portfolio of investments pushing the frontiers of clean energy, sustainable land management, and resilience across more than 70 middle and low-income countries. Originally from Portugal, Mafalda is a proud mother to three daughters and a champion of social inclusion and equity. She decided to focus her international development career on climate action after witnessing climate impacts in countries in Africa and learning about climate science.
Brad Smith
Vice Chair and President of Microsoft
Mr. Brad Smith has been appointed President of Microsoft in 2015 and Vice Chair in 2021. Je joined Microsoft in 1993, first leading the legal and corporate affairs team in Europe. In 2002, he was named Microsoft’s general counsel and spent the following decade leading work to resolve the company’s antitrust controversies with governments around the world and companies across the tech sector. Prior to joining Microsoft, Smith was an associate and then partner at the law firm of Covington and Burling. In addition to his work at Microsoft, Smith is active in several civic organizations and in the broader technology industry. He has served on the Netflix board of directors since 2015 and chairs the board of directors of both Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship program.
Mats Granryd
Director General of the GSMA
Mr. Granryd has been working for the GSMA since 2016. In his role, he has led the mobile industry in becoming the first sector to broadly commit to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2016. He is now spearheading initiatives to amplify and accelerate the mobile industry’s impact on all 17 of the SDGs, across both developed and developing markets. He serves on the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, chairs the Working Group on Digital Gender Divide, and is also a leader with The B Team, a not-for-profit initiative formed by a global group of business leaders to catalyse a better way of doing business, for the wellbeing of people and the planet. Prior to joining the GSMA in 2016, Mats was President and CEO of Tele2, one of Europe’s fastest-growing telecom operators with more than 16 million customers across nine countries. He has also held positions at Ericsson, Vodafone and Bharti.
Michel Lies
Chair of the Insurance Development Forum Steering Committee
Mr. Michael Lies has been Chairman of Zurich Insurance since April 2018. He has deep experience of the insurance sector, having spent over 4 decades with Swiss Re – including as Group CEO from 2012 until his retirement from the company in 2016. He describes global insurance as his ‘love at first sight’, combining his Mathematics education -gained in France and ETH Zurich – and the excitement of international business. He is also a member of the Institute of International Finance Board, European Financial Services Roundtable, World Economic Forum Community of Chairmen and the Insurance Development Forum’s Steering Group.
Gerard Howe
Chair of the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative
Mr. Gerard Howe has led the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development’s (FCDO) Department for Adaptation, Nature, and Resilience since 2022. His department holds responsibility for adaptation action, including locally-led, addressing climate risk, Loss and Damage, nature mainstreaming, sustainable agriculture and water security. His is the Chair of the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative and the co-Chair of the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership (REAP). Over 2021-22 he led the Scottish Government’s international climate work and delivery of COP26 in his hometown of Glasgow. Previously he led the Department for International Development (DFID) central policy and programme objectives on the United Nations and on civil society, gender equality, disability inclusion and social protection. He has held posts in country programmes for the UK government in Rwanda, Tanzania, India and in Indonesia where he was the co-lead of the UK’s International Climate Change Unit. He has a career interest in the intersection of inclusion, climate change and development.
Satu Santala
Chair of the Systematic Observations Financing Facility
Ms. Satu Santala is the Managing Director of the Nordic Development Fund. Prior to joining NDF, she was the Associate Vice-President of the External Relations and Governance Department of IFAD. She has extensive experience in international relations and development, as she has held various positions in the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 1994, most recently, prior to her joining IFAD, as Director General for Development Policy. She has also been Executive Director at the World Bank, where she represented Nordic and Baltic countries. She holds a Master of Political Science from Åbo Akademi in Finland.
Masatsugu Asakawa
Chair and President of the Asian Development Bank
Mr. Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He played a key role in rolling out a series of new and innovative financing initiatives—including an Energy Transition Mechanism — to spur the region’s low-carbon development and elevated ADB’s 2030 cumulative climate financing ambition to $100 billion as ADB continues to focus on the battle against climate change. Prior to joining ADB, he served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and has a close-to-four decades’ career at the Ministry of Finance with diverse professional experience that cuts across both domestic and international fronts. Mr. Asakawa obtained his BA from University of Tokyo (Economics Faculty) in 1981, and MPA from Princeton University, USA, in 1985.
Fatou Jeng
Youth Climate Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General
Ms. Fatou Jeng (The Gambia) is dedicated to grassroots, national, and international mobilization as a climate educator, frontline activist, and campaigner. Fatou founded Clean Earth Gambia in 2017, a youth-led, local climate organization that has mobilized thousands of Gambian young people to help marginalized and vulnerable communities build resilience to climate change. She has served as Co-lead for the YOUNGO women and gender working group and is also a member of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) where she supports the implementation of the network’s projects. Fatou holds a Master's degree in Environment, Development, and Policy from the University of Sussex. She is also a gender climate negotiator for The Gambia to the UNFCCC and was recognized as TOP 100 Young African Conservation Leader by WWF in 2022.
Marcie Roth
Executive Director and CEO of the World Institute on Disability
Ms. Marcie Roth is Executive Director and CEO of the World Institute on Disability, advancing rights and opportunities for 1.3 billion people with disabilities worldwide. She brings over 4 decades of leadership in global initiatives on equity, accessibility and inclusion focusing on sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, early warnings, humanitarian action, climate justice and community resilience for governments, corporations, health systems, and the United Nations. Appointed by President Obama to the U.S Department of Homeland Security FEMA from 2009 to 2017, she continues to lead strategy and solutions for disability accessibility and inclusion before, during and after disasters. Marcie launched and co-leads the Global Alliance for Disaster Resource Acceleration, closing the gaps in humanitarian assistance to crisis and disaster-impacted disability-led organizations across the world. She has served as a global leader throughout the development and implementation of the United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and has served on the Sendai Framework Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism since its inception.
Sultan Al Jaber
President of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference
President of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, plays a pivotal role in the comprehensive development of the UAE's commitment to addressing global environmental challenges and achieving sustainable development across key industrial sectors. With the impacts of climate change weighing their toll on energy, food, and security, Dr. Al Jaber emerged as the leader of UAE's green economy initiative, reinforcing the leadership's vision.
Mukhtar Babayev
President-Designate of the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference
H.E. Mukhtar Babayev is the COP29 President-Designate. Mr. Babayev was appointed to this position in January 2024, having led Azerbaijan’s delegation to five previous COPs. He has served as Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources since 2018 where he has led national efforts to address historic ecological damage, improve Azerbaijan’s environment, and drive climate-positive growth. In 2010, Mr. Babayev was elected to the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, where he served as a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Ecology. Before entering politics, Mr. Babayev worked at the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), where in his role as Vice-President for Ecology he developed and oversaw the company’s sustainability and environmental efforts.