Episodes
We’re continuing our conversation with Tanzeed Alam, MD at Earth Matters. Tanzeed shares his experience with the youth at COP28, and our thoughts on how to involve and educate the next generation to be more involved in climate action. If you haven’t heard Part 1—where we talk about the outcomes of COP28 in the UAE and look ahead to COP29—you’ll find that in your podcast app right before this one. This episode closes out our special series on COP28, in partnership with Mastercard and with the...
Published 02/20/24
Published 02/20/24
We’re joined today by Tanzeed Alam, MD at Earth Matters, to talk about the outcomes of COP28 in the UAE, and look ahead to COP29 in Azerbaijan. Tanzeed is the MD of Earth Matters, with extensive experience consulting with private sector and government on climate action. He also took on a special role last year as an advisor at the private office of Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak, the UN High-Level Climate Champion for COP28. Tanzeed is also our first returning guest, you can listen to his...
Published 02/14/24
Our latest Think Tank took place on day 13 of COP28 at the Slovenia Pavilion under the Take a Breath campaign, in partnership with Telfast and Sanofi. The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness and drive action on indoor air quality, aligning with the UAE Air Quality Agenda 2031. We were joined by Angie Lorena Sanchez Pina, Air Quality Specialist with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Mai Daoud, Sustainability Lead for AMEA and China Region at Sanofi, and our amazing...
Published 01/29/24
Obaid Ali Alshamshi, currently leads the Marine Biodiversity Section and the Youth Council at the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and his colleague, Shaemma Rasheed Mebwana, a Climate Change Analyst with the Ministry, share their expectations from COP28, and some of the programs available for the Youth in the Green Zone. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to the full episode in your podcast app or on our website, and...
Published 12/11/23
We’re joined for this youth-focused episode by Obaid Ali Alshamshi, a distinguished Emirati biologist, currently leading the Marine Biodiversity Section and the Youth Council at the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and his colleague, Shaemma Rasheed Mebwana, a Climate Change Analyst with the Ministry. We talk about how the UAE Government has been engaging with the youth, involving them in policy making, and some of the youth programs at the COP28 Green Zone. This is part of...
Published 12/07/23
Jamila El Mir, senior advisor to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, shares her expectations from COP28. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to Jamila’s full episode in your podcast app or on our website.
Published 11/30/23
The Greek Sheikh, H.H Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, shares his expectations from COP28. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to The Green Sheikh’s full episode in your podcast app or on our website.
Published 11/30/23
Florence Bulte, Chief Sustainability Officer at Chalhoub Group, shares her expectations from COP28. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to Florence’s full episode in your podcast app or on our website.
Published 11/30/23
Andrea Prazakova, Senior Vice President at Mastercard Foundry and ESG for EEMEA, shares her expectations from COP28. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to Andrea’s full episode in your podcast app or on our website.
Published 11/29/23
Allyson Anderson Book, Chief Sustainability Officer at Baker Hughes, shares her expectations from COP28. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to Allyson’s full episode in your podcast app or on our website.
Published 11/29/23
Hossam Allam shares his expectations from COP28. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to Hossam’s full episode in your podcast app or on our website.
Published 11/29/23
Sheikh Dr. Majid Sultan Al Qassimi shares his expectations from COP28. This is a clip from our special series, Climate Leaders–Rising up to COP28. You can listen to Dr. Majid’s full episode in your podcast app or on our website.
Published 11/29/23
We’re joined today by Jamila El Mir, senior advisor to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak. Jamila has over 16 years of experience in environmental and sustainability strategy, and policy development for master planning and citywide planning, urban waste systems and more. We talk about the impact of urban growth and the construction sector on the environment, and her work with the Climate Champions team. This is part of our special series,...
Published 11/28/23
We’re joined today by Florence Bulte, Chief Sustainability Officer at Chalhoub Group. Chalhoub Group has been a creator of luxury experiences across the Middle East for over six decades, and Florence is responsible for promoting sustainability across the Group through advocacy and partnerships. We talk about how they engage with their supply chain to embed sustainability across the Group, how the luxury industry is working on recycling and circularity, and her expectations from COP28. This is...
Published 11/24/23
H.H Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, popularly known as The Green Sheikh, joins us on the episode. Sheikh Abdul Aziz serves as environmental advisor to the Ajman Government and is also the founder of the Al Ihsan Charity, which he started in 1998 and The Green Sheikh Academy in 2018. We talk about his journey to becoming a climate leader, his mission to inspire over a billion individuals through his new program for the youth—The Climate Champions—and his expectations from COP28. You can also find...
Published 11/14/23
We’re joined on the episode by Andrea Prazakova, Senior Vice President at Mastercard Foundry and ESG for EEMEA. She’s also the co-founder of Space Uncensored, a podcast that aims to amplify the voices of women in the space industry. According to JPMogran, the worldwide digital payments industry is currently estimated at US$ 54 trillion. As this number continues to grow, it provides exciting opportunities to create a massive positive impact across sectors. We talk about the role of the fintech...
Published 10/20/23
We’re joined on the episode by Allyson Anderson Book, Chief Sustainability Officer at Baker Hughes. Baker Hughes develops and deploys advanced technologies to serve energy and industrial companies looking for more efficient, more reliable and cleaner solutions. They operate in 120 countries worldwide and their diverse portfolio of technologies and solutions are transforming how industry works today and in the future.  As Baker Hughes Chief Sustainability Officer, Allyson oversees the...
Published 10/06/23
We’re joined on this episode by by Hossam Allam, Managing Partner at the Climate Resilience Fund, which is focused on climate projects in Africa. Hossam began his career as an environmental engineer at Shell, and working for his family’s construction business in Egypt before making the shift to becoming a full-time investor. We talk about the funding instruments in the climate space, and his experience attending COP27 in Egypt as we gear up to COP28 in the UAE this year. This episode is part...
Published 09/04/23
We’re joined today by Mohammed Mahmoud, Director of Climate and Water Program at the Middle East Institute, one of the oldest Washington DC based think-tanks dedicated to the study of the Middle East and its issues. We talk about his role at the Middle East Institute studying the region, and to understand the issues we’re seeing both globally and in the region as a result of climate change. Mohammed has an extensive background in water resource issues and management, such as how climate...
Published 08/01/23
Welcome to the first episode of our new series, Climate Leaders – Rising up to COP28. We’ll share inspiring stories of sustainability leaders and climate champions, driving impact from our region to the world. We’re joined today by Sheikh Dr. Majid Sultan Al Qassimi. Until 2021, Dr. Majid was the Advisor to the Minister regarding all things Food and Agriculture, at the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. He’s now a founding partner at Soma Mater where they develop Food Security...
Published 06/08/23
We’re excited to announce a special series, Climate Leaders — Rising up to COP28, to mark the ‘Year of Sustainability’ here in the UAE, in the lead up to the UAE hosting the 28th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP28) later this year. We’ll be sharing inspiring stories of sustainability leaders and climate champions, driving impact from our region to the world. This will a special series of 10 episodes, brought to you by Goumbook in partnership with Mastercard.  Joining host Tatiana...
Published 06/08/23
Our latest Think Tank, “Towards Responsible Tourism: Best Practices from the UAE” was held at the Arabian Market a few weeks ago. The Think Tank focused on gathering perspectives from different stakeholders driving impact across a variety of initiatives in sustainable & responsible tourism from the UAE, highlighting Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism’s efforts with the recent relaunch of its carbon calculator and 19 sustainable requirements aimed at placing Dubai at the heart of...
Published 05/24/23
ESG – a holistic concept that has roots dating back to the 1960s, has evolved over the decades gaining more traction in recent years within the corporate sustainability context. Referring to the environmental (‘E’), social (‘S’) and governance (‘G’) pillars within the sustainability framework, they are key to addressing the impacts of corporate activities and investments on people and the planet. With the current lack of unified reporting standards, definition and many frameworks influencing...
Published 07/12/22
Tatiana is joined on this episode by Paul Newnham, Chair of the Public Engagement Task Force for the UN Food Systems Summit and Vice Chair of the Food System Champion Network. He is also Director of the SDG2 Advocacy Hub Secretariat and the Chefs’ Manifesto Coordinator. Paul heads up the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 Advocacy Hub as Director, an initiative bringing together NGOs, advocacy groups, civil society, the private sector and UN agencies to coordinate global campaigning and...
Published 03/28/22