COP 28 Official Side Event: Natural carbon sequestration — Leveraging soils for mitigation, storage, and biodiversity benefits

Baani joined The Climate Center in June of 2022 as the Natural Sequestration Initiative Manager. In this role, she leads the organization’s work on advancing nature-based carbon sequestration solutions to fight the climate crisis while protecting our natural lands and delivering a multitude of co-benefits for both the environment and affected communities.

Dr. Jack Hannam is the current President of the British Society of Soil Science, and a soil scientist specializing in soil data, digital soil mapping, and soil health. Her research focuses on digital soil mapping, applications of conservation agriculture to improve soil health, developing decision support tools for planning soil and landscape decisions and the application of application of national and local scale soil data for policy and business applications. Dr. Hannam leads the LandIS team at Cranfield University, who are responsible for the national soil data for England and Wales. She is also vice chair of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) Division 1: Soil in Space and Time.

James leads the Peatland, Soil, and Agricultural Land Use planning team within the Environmental Sustainability Directorate of the Welsh Government. James has led the development of the National Peatland Action Programme since 2019. His wider team covers a wide range of evidence, policy, and technical advice including the Soil Policy Evidence Programme, the development of a Soil Policy Statement for Wales, and representing soils through the planning systems in Developments of National Significance and mineral extraction cases.

Éliane Ubalijoro, Ph.D. is an accomplished leader with a background in agriculture and molecular genetics, she serves on several boards and has been recognized for outstanding contributions in the areas of innovation, gender equity, and sustainable prosperity creation. Dr. Ubalijoro has been a professor of practice for public-private sector partnerships at McGill University since 2008, with research interests focusing on innovation, gender, and sustainable development for prosperity creation. Dr. Ubalijoro is a member of Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council and Presidential Advisory Council, the Impact Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet, the Advisory Board of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, the Science for Africa Foundation board, and the Capitals Coalition Supervisory Board, among others. She is also a fellow of the International Science Council.

Karen Ross was appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture in January of 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom. In re-appointing Secretary Ross, Governor Newsom cited her unmatched leadership experience in agricultural issues nationally, internationally, and in California, in areas including environmental stewardship, climate change adaptation, and trade. Secretary Ross was initially appointed in 2011. She owns 800 acres of a family farm where her brother, a fourth-generation farmer, is mentoring a new farmer in growing no-till wheat and feed grains, incorporating cover crops and rotational grazing for beef production. Secretary Ross has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a graduate of the Nebraska Ag Leadership Program. She has served on numerous boards and committees in California agriculture and with various academic institutions.