Climate Action

Edward Palmieri Director of Sustainability, Facebook Edward Palmieri leads Facebook’s Sustainability team, developing and executing Facebook’s approach to efficient and responsible business operations. Beyond operating responsibly, the team leads efforts to support global communities and make a positive impact on the world by minimizing Facebook’s energy, emissions and water impact, protecting workers and the environment in its supply chain, and partner with others to develop and share solutions for a more sustainable world. Prior to joining the Sustainability team, Edward served for over seven years as Director and Associate General Counsel at Facebook, advising on US and international privacy laws, regulations, and industry practices. Before joining Facebook, Edward was Deputy Chief Privacy Officer at Sprint, where he led the Legal Department’s Office of Privacy. Edward started his legal career at a DC-based communications and tech law firm advising clients on privacy, telecom, and other regulatory matters. Edward also serves on the Board of SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders), a small non-profit working to empower LGBTQ youth in the Washington, DC metro area.

Karen Florini Vice President for Programs, Climate Central Karen Florini is Vice President for Programs at Climate Central, where her roles include developing and implementing communications strategies that reach and move large U.S. and global audiences as well as key decision-makers. In addition, she leads the integration of Climate Central’s program efforts and oversees the creation and distribution of the group’s products to the public and thought leaders. Florini is also a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Martin School of the University of Oxford. From April 2015 to January 2017, Florini served as Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. Department of State. In that capacity, she helped lead the Global Climate Change Initiative, a whole-of-government mechanism for integrating climate change into foreign assistance. She also led the State Department’s engagement with businesses, state and local governments, and civil society in the climate negotiations context. In addition, she headed the State Department’s portfolio on short-lived climate pollutants, which included overseeing U.S. participation in the multilateral Climate and Clean Air Coalition, co-chairing the Coalition’s Oil/Gas Methane Partnership, and chairing the Arctic Council’s Expert Group on Black Carbon and Methane.

Ko Barrett Vice Chair, IPCC Ko Barrett is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where she supervises daily operations and administration of NOAA’s research enterprise. In 2015, Ko Barrett was one of the first women elected to serve as a vice-chair of the IPCC. For over 15 years, she has represented the United States on delegations charged with negotiating and adopting scientific assessments undertaken by the IPCC. She has also served for over a decade as a lead negotiator for the United States on the United Nations treaty on climate change. Ko Barrett is widely recognized as an expert on climate policy, particularly on issues related to climate impacts and strategies to help society adapt to a changing world.

Kirsten Dunlop Chief Executive Officer, EIT Climate-KIC Kirsten’s career spans academia, consulting, banking, insurance, strategy, design, innovation, and leadership. She is the Chief Executive Officer at EIT Climate-KIC since February 2017, where she joined from Australian financial services conglomerate, Suncorp. She is one of 16 experts at the Economic and Societal Impact of Research and Innovation (ESIR) expert group, providing independent advice on how future EU research and innovation policy can best support sustainable development and the Von Der Leyen Commission’s priorities. Kirsten is committed to shaping and placing innovation to catalyze profound systemic change, and is honored to work with Climate-KIC’s world-class network of partners to support climate innovation across Europe and beyond. Her vision for EIT Climate-KIC is to offer a capability in systems transformation, resilience, and renewal to achieve a zero-carbon economy and a climate-resilient society through innovation.