Yale Planetary Solutions, the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and the Yale International Leadership Center invite you to an interactive session with three 2026 Yale Climate Fellows leading climate finance innovation across South Asia, Africa, and East Asia. Through brief spotlight presentations and breakout workshops, participants will explore how development banks, commercial financial institutions, and energy companies are mobilizing capital, designing green financial instruments, and navigating policy frameworks to accelerate climate action in emerging economies.

This event is mainly targeted towards Yale undergraduate and graduate students, but interested staff and faculty are welcome to join. Light snacks will be served.

Speakers:

Lolade Awogbade oversees Sustainability at the Development Bank of Nigeria, bringing over 16 years of experience across management consulting, sustainability, and corporate citizenship. With expertise spanning commercial and development finance, she specializes in green and net zero strategy and serves on multiple ESG working committees locally and internationally. She co-authored "Management and Leadership for a Successful Africa Vol 2."

Tashmeem Muntazir Chowdhury is Head of Sustainable Finance at BRAC Bank, Bangladesh's top-rated sustainable bank. He established the bank's Sustainable Finance Unit from the ground up and is preparing to issue Bangladesh's first-ever Social Bond. His team published Bangladesh's first corporate disclosures aligned with IFRS S1 and S2 standards, pioneering efforts that are reshaping the country's sustainable finance landscape.

Jiahui Lu is VP of Towngas Smart Energy and GM of Towngas Green Power, leading one of China's first companies to integrate renewable electricity trading, virtual power plants, and green asset management. His portfolio includes managing over 100 TWh of annual electricity transactions and 10 million tonnes of carbon credits, while exploring frontier models such as cross-border green certificate trading and tokenization of energy and carbon assets.

Moderator: 

The session will be moderated by Sara Smiley Smith, Assistant Provost for Planetary Solutions.

This event is part of the Yale International Leadership Center's Climate Week, which brings 16 Climate Fellows to campus to convene as leaders driving climate policy, finance, and technological innovation in their countries.