Gustavo Porpino has worked for Embrapa since 2006. He holds a PhD in business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas's São Paulo School of Business Administration (FGV-EAESP) and was a visiting scholar at Cornell University, where he carried out research on food consumption behaviour. Gustavo is a member of the Brazilian food banks’ network steering committee and he collaborates with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) initiatives on food security and circularity. He is a co-founder of the Pact Against Hunger, a multi-sectoral movement that combats hunger and reduces food waste in Brazil.
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Luiz Fernando Krieger Merico
Economic Affairs Officer
UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Luiz is a geologist with a master’s in environmental analysis and a PhD in geography. He was a researcher and teacher of resource economics for more than 10 years in southern Brazil. Luiz has 12 years’ experience in Brazilian public environmental management, from local to national level. He was coordinator of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for Brazil and senior adviser in climate change and biodiversity of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden. At the UN since 2016, he has been coordinating international cooperation activities in many countries on a circular and low carbon economy and nature-based solutions.
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Tuuli Hietaniemi
Senior Lead, Programmes
Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund
Tuuli helps Finnish society to find solutions to the most difficult problems of our time. She has more than 15 years’ experience in making societal change happen. At Sitra, Tuuli has worked in different positions related to promoting ecological sustainability. She holds a master’s in social sciences and is infinitely interested in how societies can flourish within the limits of nature’s carrying capacity.
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Rafael Cervone Netto
President
Center of Industries of the State of São Paulo (CIESP)
Rafael Cervone is a textile engineer and 1st vice president of the Federation of the Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP). Working with the textile sector since 1990, he is a board member of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), President Emeritus of Sinditêxtil-SP and ABIT (Brazilian Association of Textile and Apparel Industry). He was a member of the Global Business Forum for the G20, B20, and contributed to “Industrial Transformation & Innovation”, “Future of Work” and “Future of Industry and Digital Transformation”, and the ILO Group – “Dialogues on the Future of Work and Combating Slave Labor”.
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André Aranha Corrêa do Lago
COP30 President
UN 2025 Climate Change Conference (COP30)
André Aranha Corrêa do Lago has been working with the sustainable development agenda since 2001. As a career diplomat, he was the director of the Energy Department (2008-2011) and of the Environment Department (2011-2013) at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the latter period, he was Brazil´s chief negotiator for climate change and for the Rio+20 Conference. He was the Brazilian ambassador to Japan (2013-2018) and to India (2018-2023). Since March 2023, he has been the Secretary for Climate, Energy and Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Gabriel Azevedo has led international projects in more than 40 countries in infrastructure, natural resource management, agribusiness, manufacturing and environmental management. He has worked at the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Construtora Norberto Odebrecht, and was a board member for the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO) and the Brazilian Association of Water Resources (ABRHIdro). He is a board observer at the International Hydropower Association (IHA) and is IDB Invest representative at the Sustainability Committee to the Board of Hospital Einstein in Brazil. Azevedo has degrees in civil engineering, including an MSc and a PhD from Colorado State University.
Christian Spano is a strategy, innovation and sustainability executive with more than 20 years’ international experience in the resource and energy industries. He has worked for organisations such as Anglo American, the World Economic Forum (WEF), Systemiq and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). Christian holds postgraduate degrees from the London School of Economics (LSE) and Oxford University and an undergraduate degree in economics. He enjoys cycling and spending time with his two kids and wife in London.
Tarcisio Soares joined Airbus in 2019 in the helicopters division and is now responsible for promoting the strategic alignment between the major business units Commercial Aviation, Helicopters and Defense & Space. He also leads the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel initiatives in Brazil and external affairs, providing political and economic expertise to strengthen understanding and guide decision-making of Brazil and other Latin America countries. Tarcisio has over 25 years’ experience with multinationals in the aerospace and oil and gas industries. He has a bachelor’s in business in international trade and post graduated in business management and financial and economics business management.
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Emmanuel Chaponniere
Head of Circular Economy & Sustainable Development Division
European Investment Bank (EIB)
Emmanuel Chaponniere is in charge of the Projects Directorate of EIB which is composed of sector specialists. He is responsible for project appraisal including technical, economic, environmental and social issues, and the monitoring of project implementation, as well as for sector studies and policy – including the EIB’s climate, environmental and social policies. Prior to the EIB, he held various positions as a water sector specialist and waste expert in Europe and Africa. Chaponniere graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (France) and has a master’s in water management from the Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural des Eaux et Forêts (France).
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Davi Bomtempo
Environmental and Sustainability Superintendent
National Confederation of Industry of Brazil (CNI)
Davi Bontempo is an economist with a master's in public administration from the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration of the Fundação Getulio Vargas (EBAPE/FGV-RJ) and specialisation in environment and sustainability (FGV). He is currently leading the agendas of ESG, energy transition, carbon market, the circular economy and bioeconomy, as well as forest conservation, among others. He is a professional in institutional and governmental relations with expertise in advocacy strategy and stakeholder engagement. He is executive secretary of the CNI's environment and sustainability thematic council and represents the industrial sector in several national and international forums.
