Rachel Kyte was appointed UK Special Representative for Climate on 21 October 2024. She is Professor of Practice in Climate Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and dean emerita of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Rachel was previously Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All. She has also served as World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, as well as Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, and for Business Advisory Services at the International Finance Corporation. Rachel has held non-executive director, trustee and board member roles with a number of private and public financial institutions, as well as non-profit organisations, focused on climate and development.

Dr Martin Reeves has been Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council since March 2023. He has a PhD in applied economics, an Honorary Doctorate from Coventry University in recognition of his service and commitment to the City of Coventry and is the first Honorary President of LARIA (Local Area Research and Intelligence Association) and is the current Local Government Association National Procurement Champion.

Laura has a comprehensive background working on governance reviews, innovative finance approaches, impact investing, housing, and regeneration, property, construction, programme, and project management. With direct experience in local government as well as a background in public sector consultancy, Laura brings a diverse skill set and a strategic approach to developing investment propositions, optimising public assets, fostering innovation, and identifying opportunities for income generation that support long-term financial sustainability.

Philip Campbell is the Commercial Director at MEPC, where he oversees the management of Milton Park, a dynamic science and technology community, home to over 270 companies. With over 25 years of experience in commercial real estate and as a Chartered Surveyor, Philip has been instrumental in shaping Milton Park’s 2040 vision, LDO, promoting sustainable travel, building long term relationships with occupiers and partnerships with many organisations in Oxfordshire, alongside being involved with Didcot First and the Didcot Powerhouse Fund. He serves as one of three external members on Oxford University's Strategic Capital Steering Group and is a long-term Oxfordshire resident.

Stephen is an energy consultant and chartered town planner with over two decades of experience in sustainable and low carbon infrastructure and urban development. He is Arup’s Urban Energy and Integrated Energy Systems Business Leader. Stephen is a UK heat network industry leader with experience across the value chain and across central government, local government, developers and industry. He has extensive experience working with national and local governments on local area low carbon energy planning. He has led Local Area Energy Plans and strategies for local authorities across England and Wales. Stephen has also worked across eastern Europe, the Balkans and central Asia on a variety of sustainable development and energy infrastructure projects.

Professor Rajat Gupta is Director of the multidisciplinary Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD) and leads the Low Carbon Building Research Group at Oxford Brookes University, where he holds a senior professorial chair in Sustainable Architecture and Climate Change. His research focuses on achieving net-zero emissions through local energy solutions, decarbonising buildings using smart energy systems and addressing overheating risks in vulnerable settings. He is currently Principal Investigator of the recently launched £7.4 million UKRI/NIHR-funded National Research Hub on Net Zero, Health and Extreme Heat (HEARTH). Professor Gupta has served as an ad hoc member of DEFRA’s Air Quality Expert Group, and is currently advising the Ministry of Justice on retrofit strategies to mitigate overheating across the prison estate. As a Director of the international Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA) network and a member of British Standards Institution (BSI) committees, he plays an active role in shaping international discourse and technical standards on sustainable and climate-resilient buildings.

Bernie has over 15 years of experience specialising in strategic, evidence-based regeneration, asset development, and carbon reduction. She is experienced in developing innovative, long-term solutions that drive both commercial and social value. Bernie is highly skilled in partnership working, bringing together public and private sector stakeholders to solve problems, maximise benefits and deliver sustainable solutions.

Roli is Managing Director and Head of Finance at Global City Futures, with more than 20 years’ experience in professional practice. His work focuses on building investable business models that deliver on sustainable housing, decarbonisation, NHS and community infrastructure. Roli also previously led the renewable energy advisory practice for one of the Big 4 and was the lead facilitator for the firm-wide UK HM Treasury Green Book Standard training course. Roli specialises in attracting private sector investment for renewable infrastructure, making strategic approaches to government to secure funding, and demonstrating the economic value of infrastructure projects.

Matthew is a Technical Director in AECOM's London Planning Policy Team, leading growth and infrastructure planning work in the South East, addressing the challenges and harnessing the opportunities of regional and sub regional growth. Matthew has led a number of significant regional Infrastructure planning projects in the UK including Growth and Infrastructure Frameworks for Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, WECA and Oxfordshire, through the first and now the current Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OXIS). These have prioritised and supported significant strategic infrastructure investment in the south East of England. He also works with a number of public and private sector clients to advise on the appropriate infrastructure delivery solutions to support large scale masterplans and planning applications. Matthew has led the development of nationally significant strategic planning studies for Central Government including work for MHCLG on the Ox-Cam-Arc New and Expanded Settlements Programme and for Homes England and the Thames Estuary Growth Board on the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Study.

Helen has over 25 years’ experience gained within economic development, tourism, inward investment, and strategy and programme development, across the public and private sectors. Helen is responsible for building and managing relationships with a wide range of partners, stakeholders, and government to develop strategies and policies and oversee the effective implementation of these through the development and management of programmes to drive investment, innovation, and sustainable economic growth within Oxfordshire. Helen has responsibility for Strategy, Programmes, Communications, and the Inward Invest service that includes Oxford Calling.

Katie Spooner has led Green Finance at the Environment Agency for the last 6 years, supporting the development of mechanisms for private sector investment in climate and nature. This has included co-chairing the Transition Planning Taskforce working group on Adaptation and acting at a member of Green Taxonomy Advisory group. Katie and her team have worked to ensure that private finance delivers for environmental outcomes and unlocks new investment opportunities for sustainable growth.

Louise Wilson is a co-founder and joint MD of Abundance, the purpose-led FCA-regulated retail investment platform, that has well over a decade’s experience increasing the accessibility of high impact investment to individuals to address climate emergency in a more just way. Abundance has raised £135m for sustainable businesses, and now over £10m for councils as a way to build networks of trust between councils and residents in support of council climate emergency plans. Our municipal lending product draws inspiration from the past when councils borrowing from residents and citizens was a regular occurrence, and from the US where ‘munibonds’ fund two thirds of all public infrastructure. Before Abundance, Louise was Head of Equity Capital Markets at UBS Investment Bank. Louise is on the Advisory Board of Imperial College’s Centre for Climate Finance & Investment; and of Stratiphy, a start-up which is focused on giving access to institutional investing tools to retail investors, with a sustainable objective; and is a Senior Advisor to Earth Security which is focused on the business case for nature and driving global capital to nature-based solutions. She has a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Edinburgh.

Paul Watkiss is the director of a small climate research consultancy company in the UK. He has over 25 years of experience in the policy, economics and financing of climate adaptation. He led the economic analysis of adaptation in the UK CCRA3 and work on the barriers to adaptation finance for the Climate Change Committee. His current work includes the development of resource mobilisation strategies, adaptation investment plans and bankable projects, at both the national and regional level. He is the lead author of the UNEP Adaptation Finance Gap report.