Sarah Dutton, Oxford Brookes International Business student and Marketing and Business Development Assistant at Simply Sustainable, travelled to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for the COP27 climate conference last November to contribute to the conversation around climate finance. During the event, Sarah was inspired by the people she met and the insights she gained.
The opportunity to take part in COP27, as well as other events such as the UN General Assembly and COP26, was a result of Sarah’s work with the Climate Finance group at YOUNGO, a voluntary organisation run by young people. Climate finance refers to public, private and alternative sources of financing that seek to support actions that will address climate change.
Sarah has always wanted to pursue a career that would enable her to live her values and have the biggest impact. “From a young age I became absorbed in the environment and social injustices of the world, particularly climate change. Now entering my career, it’s important that my day-to-day work contributes towards making progress that matters: a more inclusive and greener world. So, for me, it’s always been sustainability.”
Within this sector, Sarah came to focus on climate finance after moving from Sydney to Cape Town during an extreme drought and witnessing for herself how unequally climate finance is distributed there. “I was shocked by the level of apathy by the private sector to invest in not only emergency aid, but climate mitigation and adaptation. Witnessing the impacts first-hand spurred my interest in studying ways to close the investment gap to achieve Paris Agreement Goals in an inclusive, durable and fair transition.”
As with most industries, the first step towards a successful career is getting your foot in the door. During her studies, Sarah volunteered for two start-ups that focused on sustainability and accessibility to healthcare services for those disproportionately affected by Covid-19 in the UK, which led to opportunities to learn from experts and share knowledge with her peers. “Aside from attending many networking events, I also looked for opportunities in the many programmes available. In the lead-up to COP26 in Glasgow, I completed the Oxford Lead for Sustainability Mentorship under the World Economic Forum, where I met many notable figures in the industry.”
While in Egypt for COP27, Sarah was also involved in private sector side events including the World Climate Summit, Saudi Green Initiative Forum and the Innovation Zone as a youth representative for panel discussions, presentations and workshops.
At the conference, climate finance was a key topic. “Within our working group we were pleased that dialogues expanded from mitigation, adaptation and resilience building to now include 'loss and damage’. The final agreement was that US$4 - $6 trillion a year needs to be invested and the focus now must be on scaling the right mechanisms and maintaining corporate accountability.”
The most memorable aspect of the event for Sarah was the “green skills of the future workplace” panel she took part in. “I spoke about the collaborations required by institutional actors - universities, government, school and business - to provide the necessary learning opportunities for students and young people to be competitive in the future jobs market. Recognising that education has a critical role to play in catalysing systems change, I was pleased to drill this message by sharing the same stage as Alok Sharma MP, Nigel Topping [UK's High-Level Climate Action Champion], Princess Mashael bint Saud Al-Shalan [Founding Partner, AEON Strategy] and others.”
Sustainability is a dynamic and expansive industry, and there are lots of ways to get involved with the work. Sarah encourages anyone interested in a career in the field to take the leap.
“If there is a problem out there and we have the means to find the call to action, then I firmly believe it’s our responsibility to do something about it. Avoid spiralling into the trap of thinking that sustainable qualifications are needed to pursue a sustainable role. Carve out a career that is important to you.”