IE SPEGA x RAIA Summer Research Program 2025
This page highlights six climate leaders that students from IE University’s School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs have researched. Using RAIA’s unique methodology, the students examined each leader’s background, motivations, policies, and impact leading up to COP30. The goal is to better understand how individual decision-makers shape climate action on a global scale. This marks the fourth consecutive year of the program thanks to the generous support and full financing of IE University.
Each profile is divided into introduction, their Stake, their defining moment, their solutions, their impact and conclusion. “Their stake” analyses the key environmental challenges and issues a leader faces, “their defining moment” highlights the key moments that are pivotal to a leader becoming a climate leader, “their solutions” examines the policies and initiatives a leader provides and “their impact” analyses how effective a leader implements the proposed solutions and how impactful they are. In the end, the students answer the questions whether the leaders qualify as a climate leader and if so, into what category of climate leadership they fall.
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, brings a rare mix of scientific expertise and political experience. Trained as a climate scientist, she was influenced by her academic parents and her grandparents, Jewish exiles from Lithuania whose political activism shaped her sense of justice.
After studying physics at UNAM, she specialized in energy engineering, earning a PhD on energy efficiency in Mexico compared to OECD countries. She went on to publish widely on energy and sustainability, becoming a recognized expert. Her political career began as Secretary of Environment in Mexico City under Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with whom she co-founded the Morena party in 2014.
As mayor of Mexico City, she pursued ambitious climate reforms, including expanding green spaces, cleaning water supplies, and cutting emissions, though her tenure also faced criticism, notably over the Metro Line 12 collapse.
Read Josip Biondić & Manuela Altés Alcaraz‘s report here:
Mexico faces intertwined environmental and political stakes. With severe air pollution, water scarcity, fossil fuel dependence, and biodiversity loss, climate vulnerability worsens inequality. Politically, Sheinbaum must balance domestic reform, MORENA’s Fourth Transformation, and Mexico’s international commitments while navigating U.S. pressure, energy sovereignty, and economic uncertainty.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s defining moment was her contribution to the 2007 IPCC report on climate change mitigation, for which the organisation won a Nobel Prize. Though only a contributing author, this role marked her shift from domestic environmental work to international recognition, building global connections and cementing her scientific and political credibility as well as legitimacy as a climate leader on the global stage.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s environmental policies emphasised transforming Mexico City’s public transport, expanding electric buses, cable cars, and cycling infrastructure to cut emissions and improve accessibility. As president, she launched the National Water Plan to address scarcity and equity, and energy reforms boosting solar and geothermal, while reinforcing state-led sovereignty through PEMEX and CFE.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s climate solutions in action include ambitious reforms in Mexico City’s transport, cycling, and mobility systems, yielding significant CO₂ reductions and expanded accessibility. Her National Water Plan targets pollution, efficiency, and concessions, while her energy policy promotes renewables and sovereignty, balancing sustainability goals with state-led oversight and economic considerations.
As the first woman to serve as Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo has built her career on linking climate action with social justice. With cities responsible for more than 70% of global emissions, her leadership demonstrates how local governments can drive ambitious responses to climate change while reshaping urban life.
Born in Cádiz, Spain, and raised in France in a modest household, Hidalgo’s personal story of social mobility continues to inform her political outlook. After a career as a labour inspector and advisor to Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, she rose through the Socialist Party ranks, ultimately winning the 2014 municipal election to become the first female Mayor of Paris.
Her mayoral agenda has centred on bold environmental reforms. From removing cars from central Paris and vastly expanding cycling lanes, to pioneering the idea of the “15-minute city,” Hidalgo has sought to transform Paris into a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable capital. Internationally, she has positioned herself as a climate advocate, most notably by convening over 1,000 mayors during COP21 to strengthen global cooperation at the local level.
Read Alice Girotto & Bryan Thorne‘s report here:
Paris confronts rising temperatures, extreme weather, air pollution, flooding, and water scarcity, threats that disproportionately harm its most vulnerable residents. This section examines how Anne Hidalgo frames climate risk as a matter of social justice, deploys health, resilience, and fairness policies in her Paris Climate Action Plan, and elevates the voices too often ignored.
Hidalgo’s defining moment came during COP21, when Paris became more than host city, it became global exemplar. She co-organised the Climate Summit for Local Leaders, bringing over 1,000 mayors together. This moment shifted her agenda towards local leadership, bringing climate policy into urban planning, social justice, and citizen participation.
Anne Hidalgo is reshaping Paris through bold climate policies: low-emission zones, bioclimatic urban planning, and energy-efficient renovations in private housing. This section explores how she combines regulation, financial incentives, and urban design to reduce pollution, improve health outcomes, and ensure social equity for vulnerable populations in the city of Paris.
The city of Paris is facing rising temperatures, extreme weather, and air pollution. In this section, we examine why Hidalgo sees environmental urgency as inseparable from equity: protecting vulnerable groups, managing water scarcity, and responding to health risks. Her policy lens centers fairness as climate pressures hit poorer neighbourhoods harder than others.
Sir David Attenborough is one of the world’s most influential environmental communicators. For over 70 years, the British natural historian and filmmaker has brought the wonders of nature into people’s homes, inspiring generations to care about the planet. His early work, beginning with Zoo Quest, documented the beauty of wildlife and remote ecosystems with scientific precision. Yet, as decades passed, Attenborough’s focus evolved from storytelling to advocacy. Moved by the accelerating threats of global warming, he began using his voice and films to urge humanity to act against what he calls “our greatest threat in thousands of years.”
From his childhood curiosity exploring the English countryside to his role as a global environmental ambassador, Attenborough has shaped public understanding of nature and climate like few others. His collaborations with organizations such as the UN and WWF extend his impact beyond film, while his speeches and documentaries have driven millions toward sustainable action, what many now call the “Attenborough effect.”
Read Giulio Guiducci & Jayveer Gautam‘s report here:
David Attenborough’s stake lies in the planet earth itself: its biodiversity, oceans, and wild spaces. As a naturalist turned climate advocate, he views species extinction, habitat loss, and ecosystem collapse as inseparable from human survival. David Attenborough sees restoring nature as key to climate resilience and climate justice for all.
Attenborough’s defining moment unfolded when his storytelling evolved into activism. By contributing to landmark documentaries and reports like A Life on Our Planet, he pivoted from narrator to voice of planetary urgency, signalling a public commitment to environmental advocacy beyond the margins of natural history.
Attenborough promotes solutions grounded in biology: restoring ecosystems, expanding marine protection, and shifting consumption patterns. He frames nature itself—not only technology—as a climate tool, calling for rewilding, biodiversity investment, and regenerative systems to absorb carbon and heal the planet.
To turn vision into action, Attenborough supports bold policies and local stewardship. His influence has spurred thousands of conservation projects globally, encouraged funding for rewilding efforts, and mobilised grassroots movements, with success measured through habitat recovery, species resurgence, and community led sustainability.
For Singapore, survival has always been the ultimate priority. Once threatened by its larger neighbours, today the city-state faces a new existential danger: climate change. Rising seas, intensifying heat, and economic vulnerability have turned environmental policy into a matter of national security. At the centre of this challenge stands Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment since 2020, and daughter of James Fu, the long-time press secretary of founding father Lee Kuan Yew.
Since joining government in 2006, Fu has broken barriers as one of Singapore’s most influential female politicians. Her current mission: ensuring Singapore’s survival through climate resilience. Under her guidance, the Green Plan 2030 aims to tax carbon emissions, strengthen food security, and adapt vulnerable infrastructure to the realities of a warming world.
Grace Fu’s story reflects Singapore’s broader narrative—a nation where climate action is not just policy, but a strategy for survival.
Read Pilar Gonzalez & Gaspard Brabant‘s report here:
For Grace Fu, Singapore’s survival is at stake. As a small island with limited resources, she sees climate change as an existential threat. Her leadership links the success of the Green Plan 2030 with national resilience, economic stability, and her own as well as her family’s legacy in Singapore.
Grace Fu’s defining moment arrived on 4 March 2021 with the launch of the Singapore Green Plan when she delivered a powerful speech pledging bold climate action. She shifted from technocrat to moral advocate, framing sustainability as a duty to future generations and a national imperative.
Fu champions the Singapore’s carbon tax, efforts toward nutritional sovereignty under the 30-by-30 initiative, and resilient infrastructure investments. These solutions reflect her integrated approach: pricing emissions, strengthening food security, and adapting built environments to climate threats.
Implementation brings challenges. Singapore’s carbon tax now covers up to 80% of emissions, pushing firms toward decarbonisation. Yet its modest rate and structural limits constrain impact. Fu defends its integrity, works on rebates, and counters critiques to maintain momentum.
Anthony Nyong stands at the intersection of science, policy, and development, shaping Africa’s climate future through innovation and institutional reform. As Director for Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, his leadership has been instrumental in aligning environmental resilience with economic opportunity. From his early academic work on water stress in the Sahel to his influential role in the IPCC’s 2007 report, Nyong has consistently placed Africa’s climate vulnerabilities—and potential—on the global stage.
What distinguishes Nyong is his conviction that climate action must serve development. Under his guidance, the AfDB’s Climate Change Action Plan, the African Carbon Markets Initiative, and Mission 300 have redefined how adaptation and finance intersect. By embedding climate considerations into every stage of project design and funding, he has enabled African states to access global finance on their own terms.
Read Luiza da Costa Carvalho Melo & Sara Tobar Herrera’s report here:
Africa’s exposure to extreme weather, water scarcity, and energy poverty defines Anthony Nyong’s environmental stake. As the continent faces rising climate risks, his work centres on integrating adaptation into development, promoting energy access, and advancing social mobility. Nyong views climate resilience not only as survival, but as a path to economic transformation for the African continent.
Anthony Nyong’s defining moment came as Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report in 2007. His analysis of Africa’s vulnerabilities reframed global discourse, making adaptation a central pillar of climate policy. This experience propelled him to advocate for Africa’s leadership in shaping its own climate narrative and financing mechanisms.
Nyong’s solutions link environmental action with economic growth. Through initiatives like the AfDB’s Climate Change Action Plan, the African Carbon Markets Initiative, and Mission 300, he has institutionalised climate policy across the continent. His strategy emphasises adaptation finance, green infrastructure, and local ownership of climate data and decision-making processes.
Nyong operationalised climate integration within African institutions by embedding safeguards, screening tools, and policy frameworks into AfDB operations. His leadership turned climate action from abstract goals into measurable systems. Initiatives like Mission 300 continue his legacy, providing structured, scalable models for sustainable growth and long-term climate resilience.