Climate Classroom at @COP30: Closing the Gap to 1.5°C and 2°C

Leandro Vigna is the Outreach and Data Partnership Manager for the Climate Watch platform. He focuses on expanding program visibility, driving engagement, and influencing decision-makers to advance solutions for today’s environmental challenges. Over the last 4 years, Leandro has worked extensively on data platforms, managing products and leading outreach efforts. His primary work has been with Climate Watch, but he has also served as a project manager for the Systems Change Lab and contributed to the creation of the AgriAdapt platform. <br /> Prior to joining the World Resources Institute (WRI), Leandro worked as an architect, environmental consultant, and project manager. Additionally, he represented Tonga and Palau as a national delegate during COP23 and COP24. <br /> Leandro holds a B.S. in Architecture and a Master's in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Kiyomi de Zoysa is an Engagement Specialist for the ACT2025 team, leading the engagement strategy for maximizing ACT2025 impact with leading experts, researchers, and negotiators, centered in equity and grassroots engagement. She has a professional background in engagement and communications, adaptation, and climate resilience, having previously worked at the NDC Partnership and the Climate Resilience Practice at WRI.<br /> Prior to joining WRI, she was a scholar of the Asian Peacebuilders Scholarship program, obtaining dual MAs in Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development at the UN Mandated University for Peace (Costa Rica) and Transdisciplinary Social Development at Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines). In 2019-2020 she was a Lankacorp fellow of The Asia Foundation where she conducted social research in women’s political empowerment in local governments in Sri Lanka. Being born and raised in Japan in a Sri Lankan household, Kiyomi considers herself a global citizen; she is a natural traveler and has a passion for forging meaningful connections across cultural boundaries.<br />

Jamal Srouji is a Senior Associate, International Climate Ambition, based in the London Office. He works towards ensuring the enhancement of climate ambition in a wide range of countries for a successful progress on climate action under the international climate negotiations.<br /> Prior to joining the WRI, Jamal served as a Green Economy Consultant at the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he provided technical advice and support to countries embarking on an inclusive green economy transition. Previously, he worked as a Sustainable Design Engineer, where he provided consulting services dedicated to promoting sustainability within the built environment. He has also been a delegate of Lebanon to the climate change conference COP21 in Paris and COP22 in Marrakech and took part in the climate change negotiations.<br /> Jamal has an academic background in engineering and policy from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Lund University in Sweden.<br /> In his free time, he enjoys cooking from different cuisines and has a YouTube channel focused on Levantine food!