In this episode, we’re hearing David Nicholson of Mercy Corps and Thomas Beloe from the UNDP talk human centred climate action. David Nicholson is the first-ever Chief Climate Officer at Mercy Corps. David joins us from the climate COP29 in Baku to share where he thinks business and human centred climate action have gotten to. Whilst Thomas Beloe, the Acting Director, Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP records his piece shortly after the climate COP is finished and shares his thoughts on how climate action needs to move forward for everyone.
Both provide insider views on what it was like at the climate COP in Baku, how we can take action, and the role business and others can play in helping tackle climate change.
Mercy Corps’ climate-related programs have reached 5.9 million people in 2023, with ambitions to extend this impact to over 20 million by supporting high-impact climate startups and advancing their Climate: Possible campaign.
With over a decade of experience at Mercy Corps, David’s work spans continents and industries—from carbon finance projects in Uganda to green business program development in Colombia. He’s a driving force behind AgriFin, a groundbreaking initiative delivering digital solutions to over 7 million smallholder farmers across Africa, empowering them with tools like mobile banking, insurance products, and climate-smart agricultural advice.
Whilst Thomas has more than 25 years of experience in providing policy advice to governments across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific. Tom Beloe leads UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub. In addition to global and regional roles on sustainable finance, Tom has also worked on governance, climate finance and responsible business practices. Previous to UNDP, Tom worked for think tanks, NGOs and the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID). He has a master’s degree in Anthropology from Cambridge University and a Master’s in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics.
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