Prominent global leaders join GCC Advisory Board

Mr. Solheim is a well-known global leader on environment and development as well as an experienced peace negotiator. He served as Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development from 2005-2012. During that period, he initiated the global program for conservation of rainforests and brought through game-changing national legislation including the Biodiversity Act and the legislation to protect Oslo city forests. He brought Norwegian development assistance to 1% – the highest in the world.<br /> Mr. Solheim was the Executive Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (the main body of world donors) from 2012-2016 and Executive Director of UN Environment from 2016 to 2018. Currently he is Senior Adviser at World Resources Institute and President of the Belt and Road Green Development Institute in Beijing. In addition, he is Chief Mentor of Global Alliance for Sustainable Planet and adviser to various companies including Aker Horizons – Norway’s leading green industry corporation. Mr. Solheim serves as chairman of the development roundtable in Green Hydrogen Organization and as a board member of International Hydropower Association. He is cochair of Treelion – a green blockchain company in Hong Kong.

Mr. Mundy is the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Chairman of SLM Partners, and Chairman of the Cibus Funds’ Advisory Board. He is Senior Adviser to the National Geographic Society, the Land Banking Group, Nature Finance, and the Sustainability-linked Sovereign Debt Hub, a Trustee of WWF-UK and of Global Canopy, and a Distinguished Fellow at the World Resources Institute.<br /> From 2007-2018, Mr. Mundy was the Director of HRH The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit. Prior to that, from 2000-2007, he worked as an Adviser to the UK Government and was also a member of the Sustainable Energy Policy Advisory Board and an Adviser to the European Commission on Russia and climate change. From 1992-2000, he managed the World Bank’s forestry and biodiversity programs in Russia and Central Asia. In the private sector Mr. Mundy has been the Managing Director of Climate Change Capital and Senior Adviser to Deutsche Bank’s Global Markets Group.

Mr. Sarmad is a former Deputy Executive Secretary/ASG at UNFCCC and former IOM Chief of Staff. He served the United Nations Climate Change secretariat (UNFCCC) from COP23 to COP 27. During his tenure, he managed the UNFCCC secretariat operations, advised Executive Secretaries on a range of issues relating to the strategic operations planning and development of the organization. He guided the process-related and operational aspects of five COPs, including through the uncertainties of COVID-19 pandemic, completion of Paris Agreement implementation guidelines including Article 6 at Glasgow and the establishment of Loss & Damage fund at Sharm El-Sheikh.<br /> Mr. Sarmad finalized the first ever comprehensive strategic framework and initiated the first ever annual report for United Nations Climate Change. He undertook a secretariat-wide restructuring process to make the organization fit-for-purpose and to move to the implementation era of the Paris Agreement. Prior to UNFCCC, Mr. Sarmad worked in several management and policy development capacities in IOM over a period of 27 years and initiated Organizational change management processes.<br /> His current areas of focus include engaging with and supporting activities and organizations around the world (a) that promise to innovate and accelerate sustainable development and growth without damaging the environment, (b) to empower youth through quality education at all levels, and (c) to advise, mentor and coach individuals and organizations in multilateralism, diplomacy, geopolitical issues on climate change.