Climate change, energy and resilience

Meggan believes that African cities are places of innovation and potential, where globally relevant solutions are found. She leads the Climate Change, Energy and Resilience workstream at ICLEI Africa, where a diverse team works with African city stakeholders to build resilience, enable low emission development, and improve access to finance and energy. Meggan holds a PhD in Environmental Science and before joining ICLEI Africa worked as a municipal official.

Kate holds a PhD in Environmental Science, focused on coastal changes associated with climate change. She has a special interest in understanding climate change and the associated risks, especially relating to coastal cities. She has worked with and for local governments to build climate resilience, developing climate adaption plans, and identifying challenges and opportunities associated with natural assets to overcome shocks and stressors associated with climate change.

Azizat holds a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering,  and currently works on the CoMSSA, ENACT and AFMEG projects at ICLEI Africa. She has experience in capacity building, research, system  design, as well as project management and implementation in energy efficiency, decentralised renewable energy systems, and energy storage. She is passionate about contributing to sustainable energy development within African cities as the way to the overall development of the African continent.

Hayley has extensive experience working at the interface of climate change and development issues, with a specific focus on climate change adaptation, disaster risk management and resilience. She has worked on diverse large research programmes in varied contexts, predominantly in urban centres across Southern African focused on issues such as disaster risk reduction and building climate change resilience. She has worked in academia, consultancy and research organisations entailing interdisciplinary engagement with local and national governments, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders. She holds a PhD in Geography from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Michael is a researcher with a focus on climate change and energy policy for just transitions in the Global South, and more than ten years of experience working in Southern, West and East Africa, and Latin America. He works at the science-policy interface at the intersection between national and international policy processes, specifically the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. Michael has worked at universities, consultancies and think tanks, and holds a PhD in Climate Policy, and an MPhil in Energy and Development Studies from the University of Cape Town.

Stéphanie Canac is an economist with 8 years of experience in strategy, finance and infrastructure project preparation. She worked on a wide range of infrastructure and blue economy projects in Africa and recently joined ICLEI Africa to support the climate change team with its finance work.

Blondel is an expert in climate finance and policy, with over 20 years of experience in climate justice and empowering local communities in Africa. He holds degrees in communications, ethnology and international cooperation, and strongly believes in the role of local governments in climate action. Before joining ICLEI Africa, Blondel worked as journalist and more recently in involving African civil society in the Green Climate Fund processes. At ICLEI Africa, Blondel facilitates the mobilisation and access to inclusive climate finance by local governments in Central Africa.

Ntombi has recently read a Master of Science in Climate Change and Development from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. Her study focused on adaptation methods, climate change, urban governance, water insecurity, and water scarcity in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. She also holds a Master of Philosophy (Law) from the University of the Western Cape which focused on children’s rights. She has eight and a half years of experience in policy research, supporting members of parliament at the Parliament of South Africa. She won an award in the Civil Society category in the 2022 Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans. She is also a recipient of the Chevening Scholarship awarded by the UK government to outstanding individuals with leadership potential from around the world to read a master’s degree in the UK.

Emma is a gender, policy and adaptation specialist with an MSc in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics. She has more than seven years’ experience providing technical assistance and developing, implementing and assessing policy and projects for UN agencies, multilateral development banks, local and international NGOs, and country governments. At ICLEI, Emma is providing technical support to cities on participatory adaptation action planning and gender mainstreaming.

Ayman is a trilingual policy officer and an energy engineer by training. He has solid experience in working at the global network level and a proven track record in political advocacy in an African context. His academic background is in energy transition and governance, as well as energy efficiency and renewables. Ayman has a Master’s degree in Political Science and Social Science from the European Institute in Berlin (Germany), a Master’s degree in Automatic Control of Energy Efficiency from the University of Lorraine in Nancy (France), as well as an Engineering Degree in Renewable Energy from the International University of Rabat (Morocco).

Lucy holds a Msc in Political Science and a MPhil in Climate Change and Development. She has worked on GCF and GEF adaptation project design in several French speaking countries before joining ICLEI Africa in early 2021. Lucy currently works on participatory adaptation action planning, gender inclusion and finance for local climate action under the CoM SSA project.

Born in Johannesburg yet growing up in Durban, Ryan is comfortable having both plenty to do as well as nothing at all. Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical engineering from the University of Pretoria. He then furthered his studies at Stellenbosch University in sustainable and renewable energy, obtaining his Master’s in Philosophy in 2017.

Nicola is passionate about developing more just and regenerative urban systems through local climate action. She holds a Masters in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University. She has worked in Environmental Management in the local government sector and as a climate change consultant, developing large donor-funded mitigation and adaptation projects with small island developing states (SIDS) and African countries. Nicola recently joined ICLEI to support African cities to develop and implement climate action plans under the CoM SSA initiative.

Meagen Swain holds a Master of Philosophy in Climate Change and Sustainable Development from the University of Cape Town with a theoretical background in Environmental and Geographical sciences. Before joining ICLEI Africa as a Professional Officer in the Climate Change, Energy and Resilience workstream, she completed the City of Cape Town’s Urban Sustainability Internship Programme, within the City's Environmental Management Department. During her time at the City of Cape Town, she supported the public participation process of the city’s Climate Change Strategy and assisted in strengthening the strategy and action plan. Her interests lie in climate change, resilience and urban greening.

Claudia holds degrees in Social Dynamics, Environmental Management and a masters in Environment, Society and Sustainability. Her role as a Research and Knowledge Management enables her to manage the knowledge and information processes for projects while simultaneously exploring the complex dynamics between humans and nature in the face of climate change.

Nelson is part of both the Climate Change, Energy & Resilience work stream, and the Membership team, while undertaking his MA in International Studies at Stellenbosch University. He has experience working for the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service, a global network of International Voluntary Service CSOs, as well as the culture and education sectors of UNESCO.

Carine is passionate about energy, especially given the urgent need for sustainable energy access in Africa. She holds a MSc. in Physics and B.Eng in Petroleum Engineering. Carine joined ICLEI as an intern and is working on climate change and energy projects, including CoM SSA. She has experience in the design, monitoring and evaluation of photovoltaic systems, as well as on technical properties of petroleum products.

Dania is a MPhil graduate from the Energy Research Centre, UCT, with a focus on climate change and poverty. Her background in communications equips her to effectively communicate climate related issues. She has over five years’ experience in climate research and consulting, working alongside donor agencies, practitioners, local and national government, regional networks, and with academia to implement a range of projects specifically around building capacity and improved climate governance.

A Capetonian and UCT student, Sadie is interning at ICLEI while completing her Chemical Engineering degree. Her interests fall broadly in the cross-road between engineering and sustainability, with specific experience in the topics of Industrial Ecology, Life Cycle Assessments and Bioprocessing Engineering. Sadie is currently exploring and helping out in various projects at ICLEI. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and being in nature.