Keynote Speakers

Home / PROGRAM / Speakers / Keynote Speakers

Dr. Kim Myung Ja, Former Environment Minister of Korea(1999-2003)

Keynote session : Climate Shock and Clean Air Action : The Need for a Paradigm Shift toward Sustainable Solutions

Dr. Kim Myung Ja currently serves as the Chairperson of the Korean Business Council on Sustainable Development (KBCSD), and the President-elect of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST). Vice-president of the Alumni Association of Seoul National University, the Presidential Advisor to KAIST. Prior to becoming the Chairperson of the Green Korea 21 Forum in 2008, she served as the Member of the National Assembly (2004-08) sitting on the Defense Committee as Vice- chairperson.

Dr. Drew Shindell, Chair, Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Scientific Advisory Panel

Keynote session: Climate and Pollution: New Challenges, New Science, New Opportunities(30 August)

Dr. Drew Shindell is Professor of Climate Sciences at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University. From 1995 to 2014 he was a scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. He taught atmospheric chemistry at Columbia University for more than a decade. His research concerns natural and human drivers of climate change, linkages between air quality and climate change, and the interface between climate change science and policy.

Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)

Keynote Session: Air Pollution, Health, and the Urban Future

Dr. Chan, the former Director of Health of Hong Kong, joined WHO as Director of the Department for Protection of the Human Environment in 2003. In 2005, she was appointed Director, Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Response, as well as Representative of the Director-General for Pandemic Influenza, and later that year was named Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases. She was elected to the post of Director-General in 2006.

Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA)

Keynote Session: The Global Challenge of Air Pollution: Finding Solutions

Dr. Birol joined the IEA in 1995 and was elected the seventh IEA Executive Director in 2015. He was named by Forbes magazine as being among the most powerful people in terms of influence on the world's energy scene. He is also the Chairman of the World Economic Forum's (Davos) Energy Advisory Board and serves as a member of the UN Secretary-General's High-level Group on Sustainable Energy for All.