The City of Sydney is supporting 20 emerging climate leaders and their innovative, environmental projects through the C40’s renowned Women4Climate mentoring program.

Sydney is the first city in Australia to sign up to the global leadership program which pairs mentees with 20 established leaders from business, government, media and the not-for-profit sector.

“Our C40 Cities Women4Climate mentees, who all live and work in Sydney, were chosen from a competitive field of women at the forefront of global climate action,” says lord mayor Clover Moore.

“In the lead up to April’s C40 Cities Women4Climate Conference, this mentorship program aims to empower the next generation of climate champions by pairing them with some of Australia’s best leaders. Together, they will develop innovative projects to tackle climate change and maintain hope in the face of state and federal inaction on climate change.”

The program includes projects to rebuild the energy market to be clean and sustainable, green the built environment one building at a time, help the finance industry to understand that climate risk equals financial risk, develop schemes to split incentives between tenants and landlords for energy efficiency upgrades, and create a supportive network of renewable energy professionals.

Other mentees will develop projects that support the local share-economy and the reuse of existing resources, encourage the community and businesses to reduce waste, advocate for more green space for local communities, crowd-fund a community solar garden, and research the water requirements of trees under climate change.

Mentees will meet with their mentors at least once a month until the Women4Climate Conference hosted by the City of Sydney at Sydney Town Hall in April 2020, when the mentees will present their final projects.

Women4Climate Sydney mentees and mentors include:

Dani Alexander (Researcher, Institute for Sustainable Futures) mentored by Jacki Johnson (Co-chair, United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative Global Steering Committee and Co-chair, Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative)
Claudia Barton (renewable energy engineer) mentored by Siobhan Toohill (Group Head of Sustainability, Westpac Group)
Emma Bombonato (Manager of Environmental Sustainability, Sydney Opera House) mentored by Beck Dawson (Chief Resilience Officer, Resilient Sydney)
Marine Calmettes (Sustainability Manager, Corporate and Investment Property, Frasers Property) mentored by Emma Herd (CEO, Investor Group on Climate Change)
Sofia Carvajal (President, Hurstville Community Garden) mentored by Ronni Kahn AO (Founder and CEO, OzHarvest)
Duygu Caymaz (Sustainability Programs Coordinator, Veolia ANZ) mentored by Ming Long (Chair, AMP Capital Funds Management Limited)
Amy Croucher (Founder, Inner West Tool Library and A Library of Things) mentored by Natalie Isaacs (Founder and CEO, 1 Million Women)
Melinda Dewsnap (Sustainability Engagement Manager – Residential, City of Sydney) mentored by Naomi Hogan (National Coordinator, Lock the Gate Alliance)
Jacqueline Fetchet (renewable energy lawyer and Associate Solicitor, Herbert Smith Freehills) mentored by Monica Barone (CEO, City of Sydney)
Claire Higgins (Emergency Management Support Officer, Northern Beaches Council) mentored by Bernie Hobbs (Presenter and Science Writer, ABC)
Madeleine Hill (Team and Communications Coordinator, Investor Group on Climate Change) mentored by Juliette Wright OAM (Director and CEO, GIVIT Founder)
Komal Jalan (Senior Investment Stewardship Analyst at NSW Treasury Corporation) mentored by Monica Richter (Senior Manager Low Carbon Futures, WWF-Australia)
Anna Jane Linke (Founder and CEO, Seaside Scavenge) mentored by Blair Palese (Founder and Director, 350.org Australia)
Tricia Lorenzo (Senior Business Development Manager, Flow Power) mentored by Kim McKay AO (Director and CEO, Australian Museum)
Christine Luo (Cluster Program Evaluation Manager, Department of Premier and Cabinet) mentored by Preeti Bajaj (CEO, Clipsal Solar)
Anna Mitchell (Senior Sustainability Strategist, City of Sydney) mentored by Dr Sarah Hill (CEO, Greater Sydney Commission)
Daniela Ramirez (Senior Sustainability Manager, Georges River Council) mentored by Lucy Sharman (Sustainability Manager, Lendlease)
Jillian Reid (Principal, Senior Responsible Investment Specialist, Mercer) mentored by Tina Perinotto (Managing Editor and Publisher, Fifth Estate)
Clare Stephens (environmental engineer and PhD student, UNSW) mentored by Dr Gabrielle Kuiper (Distributed Energy Resources Strategy Specialist, Energy Security Board)
Johanna Walton-Hespe (Senior Sustainability Consultant, Arup) mentored by Romilly Madew AO (CEO, Infrastructure Australia)

Image credit: Katherine Griffiths, City of Sydney

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