When growing up in Cairo, plastic pollutants had a devastating impact upon Aya Al-Sharqawy and her family. It was the motivation she needed to tackle the crisis head on after Leeds.

In this episode of My Climate Story, the inspirational Aya explains how the recent death of her father made those impacts even more stark. We learn about her start-up, Recyclizer, and the challenges she's faced in making it a success - including fighting gender discrimination, and her daily battle with serious illness.

In episode three, host Simon Moore is in conversation with Leeds alumni Jennifer Bell (Economics 2015), Senior Climate Risk Policy Advisor at the Bank of England, and Professor Iain Clacher (PhD Accounting and Finance 2008), Professor of Pensions & Finance at Leeds, and Pro Dean for International at Leeds University Business School.  

We hear about the importance of finance in combatting the climate crisis, as well as our guests’ reflections on COP26 – including the commitment of nearly 500 global financial services to align $130 trillion towards limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, a process Jenn played a large part in. We hear why divestment strategies might not always be the answer, and how to best ensure financial decisions account for climate and environmental impact. 

We also discover the role Leeds played in our guests’ careers, and hear some advice on how you too could forge a career combatting the climate crisis.  

My Climate Story is a chance to meet inspiring Leeds alumni around the globe who are helping to combat the climate crisis.  

* Presented by Simon Moore (Biology 2014), alum and communications officer at University of Leeds and Admin and Logistics Lead with the Climate Action Leeds programme. Follow @Simon_C_Moore on Twitter.  

Featuring Jennifer Bell, Senior Climate Risk Policy Advisor at the Bank of England, who supports Mark Carney as COP26 Private Finance Advisor to the UK Government. Jenn is working to create the financial system for net zero which involves creating a framework to allow every financial decision to take climate change into account. 

And Professor Iain Clacher, Professor of Pensions & Finance, Pro Dean for International at Leeds University Business School and head of the University’s new Centre for Financial Technology and Innovation. Iain leads on climate and environmental risk analytics for pensions and asset management within the newly established £10m UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment. As part of this project he is also leading on the development of one of the two climate and environmental risk analytics hubs in Leeds and London.  

Produced by Ed Newbould, communications officer, University of Leeds.  

We’d love to hear your feedback - tweet @LeedsAlumni  

You can meet more inspiring Leeds alumni around the globe who are helping to combat the climate crisis through our podcasts, features and guest blog posts.

And discover how Leeds researchers are helping to shift the world rapidly to net-zero emissions and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. 

In episode two, host Simon Moore is in conversation with Leeds alumni Gemma Hoskins (Environmental Science 2002), Head of Outreach at Greenpeace, UK, and Meesha Tandon (MSc Watershed Management 2007), Independent Subject Expert and the Vice President of the Sustainability & Adaption Planning Foundation, India. 

We hear about the work of Greenpeace and newer environmental groups, and the role activist movements play in inspiring others. We find out about attitudes towards climate change in India, and how Meesha is working to educate the population. We hear our guests' hopes for COP26, and why there is reason for optimism.   

We also discover the role Leeds played in our guests’ careers, and hear some advice on how you too could forge a career in sustainability.  

My Climate Story is your opportunity to meet inspiring Leeds alumni around the globe who are helping to combat the climate crisis. 

* Presented by Simon Moore (Biology 2014), alum and communications officer at University of Leeds and Admin and Logistics Lead with the Climate Action Leeds programme. Follow @Simon_C_Moore on Twitter. 

Featuring Gemma Hoskins, Head of Outreach at Greenpeace, UK, a movement of people who are passionate about defending the natural world from destruction. Gemma sets the direction of Greenpeace’s Volunteer Programme, delivers Greenpeace’s local presence campaigns, and provides relevant support to their network of approximately 5,000 Activists to enable them to deliver work to support the organisational objectives across the UK.  

And Meesha Tandon, Independent Subject Expert and the Vice President of the Sustainability & Adaption Planning Foundation, India, a group of environmental experts who seek to raise climate change awareness across all of Indian society. Meesha conducts awareness programs and short courses on water and other aspects of climate change.   

Produced by Ed Newbould, communications executive, University of Leeds. 

We’d love to hear your feedback - tweet @LeedsAlumni 

You can meet more inspiring Leeds alumni around the globe who are helping to combat the climate crisis through our podcasts, features and guest blog posts.

And discover how Leeds researchers are helping to make the upcoming climate summit a success, to shift the world rapidly to net-zero emissions and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.