General Secretary of the Council for Higher Education in Central America (CSUCA in Spanish) for the period 2018-2022. President of the National University of Guatemala, San Carlos, 2014-2018. He received his degree as Dental Surgeon in 1983 and holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Diploma in Informatics and Social Communication Technologies. He received the Gold Medal as Distinguished Professional in 2013 among other awards at the national and Central American level.

Ms. Bárcena assumed office as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on 1 July 2008. She had previously served as the Under-Secretary-General for Management at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Chef de Cabinet and Deputy Chef de Cabinet to the former Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan. Alicia Bárcena held the post of Deputy Executive Secretary and Director of ECLAC's Environment and Human Settlements Division. Prior to her time at ECLAC, Ms. Bárcena served as Co-ordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Sustainable Development Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), responsible for the Environmental Citizenship Project at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Alicia Bárcena was the Founding Director of the Earth Council in Costa Rica, a non-governmental organization in charge of follow-up to the agreements reached at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Ms. Bárcena has published numerous articles on sustainable development, public policy, environmental issues, and public participation. Alicia Bárcena holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, in Spanish), as well as a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. She has completed the courses for a degree of Master in Ecology, and has initiated studies for a PhD degree in Economics at the UNAM. She has been awarded honoris causa doctorates from the University of Oslo, Norway, in September 2014, the University of Havana, Cuba, in March 2016, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in September 2019. In July 2015, she was appointed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) as extraordinary teacher to collaborate at the Economics School and other entities. On 1 October 2014 she received the medal 2013 in International Relations of the University of Anáhuac.

Desde el 24 de agosto de 2009 es Director de la Sede Subregional en México de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe. Antes fue Secretario General del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID). En su país, Guatemala, fue Ministro de Finanzas Públicas y titular de la Secretaría de Planificación y Programación. Fue Decano de la Facultad de Economía de la Universidad Rafael Landívar. Estudió Economía para el Desarrollo en el programa de Doctorado del Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT). Cuenta con una Maestría en Ingeniería y una Maestría en Planeación Regional de la Universidad Michigan en Ann Arbor. En 2007 fue destacado por el Banco Mundial como uno de los Diez Reformadores del Año y en 2008 recibió la Orden Isabel la Católica, de España. Hugo Beteta fue becario de la Comisión Fullbright y de las fundaciones Aga Kahn, MITVoorhees y MacArthur.

Edwin Castellanos has 23 years of continuous work in research and education in Guatemala and Mesoamerica in the area of climate change and natural resource management, particularly forests and water. He is the Coordinating Lead Author in the IPCC 6th Assessment Report in the chapter on vulnerability and adaptation for Central and South America. He also participated in COP 21 in Paris in December 2015 as the National Commissioner on Climate Change. Edwin is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Inter American Institute for Global Change Research, IAI; member of the External Advisory Council for WWF Latin America; and member of the Alliance for Climatic Resilience in Rural Latin America. He is the university representative before the National Council for Climate Change, the highest decision body on climate change issues for Guatemala. Edwin has been the Principal Investigator in multiple projects at the national and regional level on the topic of adaptation to climate change by rural and small farmer communities. He has also led the studies for the past 15 years on monitoring deforestation and studying the causes for that problem in Guatemala, as part of the national REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) initiatives and other initiatives to develop carbon-offset projects. He promoted the creation and served for three years as the Secretary of the Guatemalan System for Climate Change Sciences, SGCCC, a network of research centers that provides scientific advice to decision makers. Edwin received the National Medal of Science and Technology, Guatemala highest scientific award, in 2016.

Ana Chan is a lawyer with a Master’s in International Law, certified mediator with ample experience on strategies to promote economic development, innovation and entrepreneurship, leadership by women and gender issues. She is the Guatemalan National Secretary for Science and Technology, Secretary for the Commission for Scientific and Technological Development for Central America and Panama (CTCAP in Spanish), Chair of the Working Group on Technology Development of the Science and Technology Commission of the Organization of American States. Her professional experience is on project management, interinstitutional alliances and work with multidisciplinary teams for the planning and evaluation of objectives. Active participation in business chambers being the first woman to chair the Mexican-Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce.

Selamawit Desta Wubet is the Coordinator of the Climate Vulnerability Forum (CVF) Program with the Global Adaptation Center (GCA) Support Program for the CVF and V20, in whose role she mainly directs the CVF work stream. As part of her role in the GCA, Selamawit supports the strengthening of representation, cooperation and partnership of the CVF Presidency and leadership group by establishing links with governments, international and regional organizations and non-state actors, leading internal analysis of intergovernmental policy processes and support for policy advisory activities. For the past two years, Selamawit has been working with the Means of Enforcement Division of the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) supporting intergovernmental negotiations on capacity building by providing technical and policy advice. Previously, Selamawit was lead climate change negotiator and legal advisor to the Ethiopian government, covering national and international legal issues, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement negotiations, and working as principal advisor in the ratification of the Paris Agreement by Ethiopia.

Leonardo Enrique Deras Vásquez, has a university degree in Industrial Electrical Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH); he has more than 30 years of experience in the Energy Sector during which he has led Energy Security and Restructuring of the country's Electricity System, among others. He has extensive experience in Public Policy Regulation in Renewable Energy, Electricity and Efficiency, Hydroelectric Development Management and Planning, Design and Construction of Hydroelectric Projects. He currently serves as Subsecretary of State in the Office of Renewable Energy and Electricity in the Energy Ministry of Honduras. During his career, he has held several important public positions such as General Manager of Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica de Honduras (ENEE), Generation Manager of Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica de Honduras (ENEE), Head of the General Francisco Morazán Hydroelectric Power Plant Operation Unit, as well as Professor of Laboratories in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH). The Subsecretary of State has represented Honduras in different forums such as the Board of Directors of the Regional Electricity Market (CDMER), the Council of Ministers of Energy within the Central American Integration System (SICA), participated as Founding Member and First President of the Board of Directors of the System Operator (ODS), has been the Owner Representative of the Transmission Agents before the System Operator (ODS) and of the Operating Committee for the implementation of the Thermal Generation Contracts LUFUSSA III and ENERSA, among others.

Thelma Krug was elected Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2015 for the Sixth Assessment Cycle, after having been co-chair of the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories from 2002 until 2015. She is a former researcher at the Earth Observation Coordination at the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil, under the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication (MCTIC). She holds a PhD on Spatial Statistics from the University of Sheffield, UK. She has been Deputy National Secretary at the Secretary on Policies and Programs of Science and Technology at MCTIC; National Secretary at the Secretary on Climate Change and Environmental Quality from the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) and Director of the Department on Policies to Combat Deforestation under the Secretary of Climate Change and Forests at MMA. For more than 15 years she represented Brazil in the negotiations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with particular focus on issues related to land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF); research and systematic observations; and reporting guidelines. Her main areas of interest are climate change and the role of deforestation, forest degradation and land-use change; REDD+; and national greenhouse gas inventories.<br />

Mrs. Berta Olmedo is the Executive Secretary of the Regional Committee for Hydraulic Resources of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Her experience is in: • Regional Consultant on Climate Services Issues; • Manager of Climatology during 2015; • Permanent representative of Panama to the World Meteorological Organization, 2010-2012; • Professor at the University of Panama, school of meteorology, from 1996 to date, in the courses of General Meteorology, Climatology and Biostatistics; • Supervisor of variability and climate change in the Hydrometeorology Department of ETESA, from 2005 to 2014; • Meteorologist observer, in the Aeronautical Meteorology Department of the Civil Aeronautics Directorate, 1993-1995; • She has written several articles related to climate change in the Central American region, particularly for Panama in the variables of rainfall, temperatures and flows.; • Specialist in monitoring and forecasting the El Niño and La Niña phenomenon.

Mario Roberto Rojas Espino has been Guatemala's Minister of Environment and Natural Resources since January 15, 2020. He has a degree in Business Administration and a specialization in forests and ecology from the Central National School of Agriculture. He worked in the Office of Control of Reserve Areas of Guatemala and as a forestry technician in the National Institute of Forests, where he worked in watershed management. As the head of the Ministry of Environment, he has promoted projects such as Environmental Patrols, which increased the incidence of the ministry and reinforce the inspections and audits that are carried out. He promoted the Biaweb, a platform to streamline user procedures and procedures and reduce administrative costs. He also promoted the registry for Wastewater Generating Entities (Sigegar), which allows the identification and geolocation of wastewater generators to control the discharges they emit and reduce pollution in water bodies. He is a faithful believer in environmental education as the government, municipalities and citizens are all obliged to take care of the environment. Under his leadership, the Ministry has created programs such as Ecological Guardians, Environmental Leaders and the campaign "Do your part, no more garbage".

Desde el año 2004 es Director de la División de Desarrollo Sostenible y Asentamientos Humanos de la Comisión Económica de las Naciones Unidas para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). Fue Director del Centro de Transporte Sustentable de la Ciudad de México, un programa establecido conjuntamente por la Secretaría del Medio Ambiente del Distrito Federal, el Centro Interdisciplinario de Biodiversidad y Ambiente y el World Resources Institute. Se desempeñó como Coordinador de Asuntos Internacionales de la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca durante los años 1994 a 2000. Como tal, participó en la negociación del protocolo de Kioto y del protocolo de Bioseguridad. Representó a México en la Comisión de Cooperación Ambiental de América del Norte y ante el comité de política ambiental de la OCDE. Es doctor en Recursos Naturales por la Facultad de Economía de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, licenciado en Economía por la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, magíster en Economía Política Internacional en la Universidad de las Américas y Fellow del Programa Internacional LEAD del Colegio DE México. Es autor y coautor de diversas publicaciones sobre cambio climático entre las que consta el libro de la CEPAL “La emergencia del cambio climático en América Latina y el Caribe”.

Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications of Costa Rica. With an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering, she received a scholarship to get a Master’s degree in Microelectronics and Microsystems at the Technical University in Hamburg where she also received a Ph.D. in Microelectronics (she is the first Costa Rican woman to hold a Ph.D. in electronics). She is a professor at the School of Electronic Engineering at Technological University of Costa Rica since 1999. From 2015 to 2018, she was the Vice-rector of Research and Outreach at that university where she promoted the strengthening of the international programs. From 2018 to 2020 she was the Vice Minister of Science and Technology and since June of 2020 she became the Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications.