Meeting events

Join the EDF Forests team and partners  for a full day of conversations exploring some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing forests and communities around the world.

Taking place at Queen Mary University of London, these three events will bring together Indigenous leaders, researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and technical experts to discuss forest governance, climate finance, illegal mining, and wildfire resilience.

📅 Thursday, June 25, 2026

📍 Joseph Rotblat Lecture Theatre, Queen Mary University of London

🌿 Event 1 |From Extraction to Knowledge: Tackling Illegal Mining in Ecuador Through Science and Indigenous Leadership

9:00–10:30 AM BST

Explore how Indigenous knowledge, scientific research, and monitoring systems can work together to better understand and address illegal mining in the Amazon.

RSVP: https://luma.com/iwjumr2e

🤝 Event 2 | Building Trust in Climate Finance: The Role of Benefit Sharing Plans in Strengthening IPLC Participation

10:30 AM–12:00 PM BST

Join us for a discussion on how REDD+ Benefit Sharing Plans can go beyond financial distribution to strengthen trust, participation, governance, and territorial co-benefits for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

RSVP: https://luma.com/zuskn3wa

🔥 Event 3 | Enhancing Wildfire Resilience in India: Integrating Science, Communities, and Innovation

12:00–1:30 PM BST

Learn how science, traditional knowledge, government leadership, and technology can work together to build long-term wildfire resilience in tropical forest landscapes.

RSVP: https://luma.com/nz78gjmz

Participants are welcome to register for one, two, or all three events.

​As part of London Climate Action Week 2026, CTrees is bringing together leaders across science and policy on Wednesday, June 24, to discuss efforts to advance forest resilience and economic development in tropical Africa.

Featuring panel discussions with leading scientists, government officials, and experts in finance and policy, the event will explore practical pathways towards more resilient ecosystems and livelihoods in the region.

​Confirmed speakers include:

​Panel 1 | Green Shields: Scaling Trees on Farms for Climate Resilience and Food Security

​Across Central Africa, scattered trees and on-farm agroforestry act as critical green shields—recycling moisture, stabilizing local climates, and sustaining crop and livestock productivity. This panel of scientists, policymakers, and NGO leaders will highlight how trees on farms can help deliver measurable gains for food security and livelihoods in the region.

• ​Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, Senior Advisor Consultant, Forest, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

• ​John Mundy, Director of Global Partnerships, One Acre Fund

• ​Tim Pagella, Thematic Lead on Agroforestry, CIFOR-ICRAF

• ​Sassan Saatchi, CEO and Chief Scientist, CTrees

• ​Lee White, Special Envoy, Science Panel for the Congo Basin

​Panel 2 | Rewarding Regrowth: Investing in Africa’s Regenerating Forests

​Naturally regenerating forests are among the most powerful nature‑based climate solutions, yet current climate and biodiversity finance largely overlooks the impact of regeneration. This panel of leading scientists, funders, decision-makers, and community advocates will explore what it takes to successfully scale regeneration across tropical Africa—turning these forests into investable and equitable climate solutions.

• ​Hannah Morton, Carbon Originator, Trafigura

• ​Berta Pesti, Head of Secretariat, Central African Forest Initiative

• ​Sassan Saatchi, CEO and Chief Scientist, CTrees

• ​Tonthoza Uganja, CEO and Founder, Sustainable Farming Solutions Malawi

​Advance registration for this event is required and subject to approval. Please reach out to Janet Smith, director of development and partnerships, at jsmith@ctrees.org with questions.

The session highlights the power of locally led action to build climate resilience through nature. Three Climate Adaptation Champions will share insights from their work with communities in Nicaragua, the Eastern Atlantic Islands and Uganda – highlighting local perspectives on climate impacts, adaptation priorities and the role of ecosystem-based approaches.

Speakers:

Beckie Nantongo, Climate Adaptation Technical Specialist, Uganda, Fauna & Flora
Katelene Da Cruz Delgado, Climate Adaptation Technical Specialist, Eastern Atlantic Islands,  Fauna & Flora
Marcela Gutierrez, Climate Adaptation Technical Specialist, Nicaragua, Fauna & Flora

World Resources Institute, Ocean & Climate Platform and Ocean Conservancy, as founding members of the Blue NDC Challenge, will host a closed-door exchange during London Climate Action Week to advance ocean-climate priorities through stronger cooperation, practical delivery, and broader multilateral partnerships. Co-organised with Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, the session will bring together a small group of countries and partners to share experiences, explore how financial flows can better support ocean priorities, and identify ways to strengthen collective ambition for ocean-based action in nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The discussion will also provide a space to reflect on how recent milestones, including the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue and the Our Ocean Conference, can help shape the next phase of work on ocean-based climate action. The conversation will highlight shared priorities, common challenges, and opportunities for cooperation among European countries, the United Kingdom, and partners in other regions.

Objectives

• Create a focused space for countries and partners to exchange practical approaches on ocean-climate implementation and identify where collaboration can accelerate delivery.
• Explore how financial flows can be better aligned with ocean priorities, including through public finance, development finance, and partnerships with multilateral institutions.
• Discuss how EU and UK actors can strengthen cooperation on ocean-climate ambition, including through diplomacy, policy alignment, industry engagement, and academic collaboration.
• Consider how countries can reinforce ocean priorities within broader coalitions and show stronger support for collective ambition, especially in the run-up to COP31 and the Pacific pre-COP.

​Consumers say they care about climate and nature, but that doesn’t always translate into what they buy. So what can organisations do to support better purchasing decisions that reflect their values?

​This London Climate Action Week, join GlobeScan and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) at Somerset House for our interactive event Helping Consumers Make Better Purchase Decisions: How Organisations Can Turn Concern into Action.

​The session will combine consumer evidence with practical experience from companies and NGOs working across sustainability, marketing, insights and behaviour change. Through guided discussion and audience participation, participants will exchange perspectives, hear practical examples from companies and NGOs, and explore ideas they can apply in their own work.

With COP32 coming to Ethiopia in 2027, this dialogue brings together senior African and European leaders to explore how both continents can collaborate on resilience, food security, and sustainable development. Discussions will focus on the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework, Africa’s role in the green transition, and opportunities for deeper political and economic cooperation.

This high-level dialogue, jointly hosted by ODI Global and the World Resources Institute during London Climate Action Week, will bring together senior African and European policymakers, experts and thought leaders to explore how both continents can work together more effectively on adaptation, resilience, trade, investment and sustainable development.

The discussion will examine how Africa–Europe partnerships can help strengthen climate resilience, food systems and economic stability in an increasingly complex global context, while shaping a more ambitious and equitable agenda ahead of COP32.

The Burgess Park Climate and Nature Festival is a community-led, open-air climate event that brings climate action directly into the heart of local communities. Held in one of South London’s most historic and diverse green spaces, the festival offers a compelling example of how place-based engagement can drive meaningful climate action.

Organised by INDUS Advisory as part of London Climate Action Week (LCAW)—one of the world’s largest city-wide climate festivals—the event convenes residents, grassroots organisations, and climate leaders to explore practical responses to the climate crisis. It raises awareness of the impacts of climate change not only at a global scale, but also on the park itself, its visitors and surrounding communities, as well as its wildlife, biodiversity, amenities, and physical environment.

​As part of London Climate Action Week 2026, CTrees is bringing together leaders across science and policy on Wednesday, June 24, to discuss efforts to advance forest resilience and economic development in tropical Africa.

Featuring panel discussions with leading scientists, government officials, and experts in finance and policy, the event will explore practical pathways towards more resilient ecosystems and livelihoods in the region.

Addressing climate change and nature loss requires systemic solutions that go beyond investments in individual projects. Landscape initiatives offer a systemic, place-based approach, addressing critical sustainability challenges at scale.

Across a keynote and two panel sessions, participants will explore what makes landscape initiatives reliable investment partners, key lessons from financing resilient landscapes, and how landscape-level impact can be translated into corporate reporting. This half-day event will offer practical perspectives on resilient landscapes and how investors can have confidence in the effectiveness of these initiatives, while showcasing the latest resources and insights from leading landscape practitioners and partners.

Agenda:

• 09:30-10:00 – Opening
  • This session will set the context for the event, introducing the concept of resilient landscapes and their importance in tackling interconnected global sustainability challenges.
• 10:00-11:00 – Financing Resilient Landscapes
  • Bringing together perspectives from public finance institutions, private investors, development organisations, and philanthropic actors, this panel session will explore how to mobilise and scale finance for resilient landscapes, exploring existing financing models and opportunities for innovation. 
• 11:00-11:30 – Break
  • An opportunity to network with attendees. 
• 11:30-12:30 – Translating Landscape Impacts for Corporate Reporting
  • This panel session will focus on how landscape-level outcomes, such as ecosystem restoration, improved water management, and enhanced livelihoods, can be translated into credible, standardised and impactful data for corporate reporting. 

On Sunday 21 June, the summer solstice, Nature in the City gathers 350 guests on the rooftop of Sea Containers London for an afternoon of honest, solutions-led climate conversation.

Co-hosted by The Long Run, LORE Group, Bouteco and The Datai Pledge, the afternoon makes the case that travel and hospitality — one of the largest economic sectors in the world, shaping decisions across land, water, food, energy and culture — is a serious climate actor, not a peripheral one.

Speakers include Dr, Matt Winning, stand-up comedian, environmental economist, UCL researcher and BBC Radio 4 presenter and Kevin Lacks-Kelly, Head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit and Chair of the INTERPOL Wildlife Crime Working Group, who will set out why wildlife crime, now the world’s fourth-largest criminal enterprise, is a frontline climate issue. They are joined by leaders from LORE Group, The Datai Pledge, The Long Run, The Bull Inn, Sapling Spirits and NEMI Teas, exploring nature-based solutions, regenerative food and drink, accountability and data, and the place of nature in cities.

Curated by Juliet Kinsman, Sustainable Luxury Expert, Sustainability Editor at Condé Nast Traveller and Ambassador for The Datai Pledge. A special episode of the Funny Old World podcast, sponsored by The Long Run, will be recorded on the day.

Talks 3 – 5.30pm; drinks until 6pm.

Tickets £20 — every penny goes to Farms for City Children, in their 50th anniversary year.