2026 Category: Speakers

Muhammad Omar Masud leads the Urban Unit, Punjab’s data-driven policy and design think tank within government, and brings to that role a rare combination of academic depth and civil service experience. He completed his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in urban and regional planning and holds a Master of Public Policy from Princeton University. His work at the Urban Unit focuses on using spatial data and technology to develop local implementation strategies for the environmental and infrastructure challenges that come with Pakistan’s rapid urbanisation. Under his leadership, the Urban Unit has been deeply involved in the development of...

Anouj Mehta is a leading expert in innovative and green finance, currently serving as the Country Director for Thailand at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He previously headed the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF), a pioneering $2 billion initiative designed to accelerate green infrastructure and climate-resilient recovery across Southeast Asia. With a career spanning over two decades, he has held key roles at JP Morgan Chase and the World Bank, specializing in public-private partnerships and sustainable capital markets. Mehta is a champion of nature-based solutions and has led high-impact projects such as the Shandong Green Development Fund and the...

Owais Mir founded Dynamic Engineering and Automation with a focus on bringing advanced engineering solutions to Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure sectors. His work is part of a broader ecosystem of technology and engineering companies that are essential to the practical delivery of Pakistan’s clean energy ambitions. The country’s solar revolution has advanced at an extraordinary pace, with tens of gigawatts of solar panels imported in recent years, but scale requires not just hardware but the engineering, automation, and system integration capabilities that companies like DEA provide. His presence at this conference reflects the private sector’s role as a delivery partner...

Masood-ul-Mulk is a leading Pakistani expert on humanitarian aid and the Chief Executive Officer of the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), where he has spearheaded sustainable development for over 20 years. He is globally recognized for leading SRSP to win the prestigious Ashden Award (the “Green Oscar”) for bringing renewable micro-hydro energy to over 365,000 people in remote, climate-vulnerable mountain regions. An expert in climate change adaptation, he has implemented eco-friendly agricultural practices and established over 280 nurseries to enhance rural resilience.

Dr. Zeelaf Munir is Managing Director & CEO of EBM, Pakistan’s largest FMCG, and Chairperson of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC). She is also a member of the Planning Board, Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Government of Pakistan, and serves on the Boards of LUMS foundation, Habib University Foundation, and iCare Foundation. A physician by training, with degrees from Dow University, Johns Hopkins, and Washington Univ. School of Medicine, her 25+ year career spans medicine, industry, and public policy. At Breathe Pakistan, she sits at the point where agri-based value added business and government meet, speaking for the...

Nusrat Nasab has built her career on understanding what climate change actually means for the most vulnerable communities in Pakistan’s mountain regions. Working with the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, she has led hazard and risk assessments across Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, mapping the growing threat of glacial lake outburst floods, landslides, and flash floods to villages that have few resources to protect themselves. She has presented her research at international conferences and contributed to landmark publications on disaster risk reduction in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, consistently making the case that early warning systems and community preparedness are not optional extras...

General Shahid Nazir leads the Green Pakistan Initiative, the government’s flagship programme to expand forest cover and restore ecosystems across the country. Pakistan’s forest cover has historically been among the lowest in South Asia, and decades of deforestation have left landscapes more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and the kind of runaway heat that has made recent summers increasingly life-threatening. The Green Pakistan Initiative sits within a broader national push to use tree planting and ecosystem restoration not just as climate mitigation but as a tool for rural employment, watershed protection, and long-term flood resilience. As its chief executive, Nazir brings...

Damilola Ogunbiyi is one of the most influential figures in the global energy transition and a tireless advocate for the developing world’s right to clean, affordable power. As CEO of Sustainable Energy for All and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy, she has built an organisation that has supported over one hundred countries and secured commitments of more than 1.6 trillion dollars in energy finance. Named to the TIME100 Climate list as one of twenty titans in climate in 2024, and to the TIME Earth Awards in 2026, she has consistently argued that the clean energy transition...

James Robert Okoth leads the FAO’s work in Pakistan at a moment when the gap between the country’s food production needs and its actual output has never been wider or more precarious. Pakistan feeds over 240 million people, relies on agriculture for nearly a quarter of its GDP and the livelihoods of the majority of its rural workforce, and yet the sector is being systematically weakened by the same climate shocks that hit hardest in the very communities that grow the food. The FAO’s Pakistan operation has been central to the flood response, to efforts to rebuild agriculture in the...

Tariq Alexander Qaiser is a multifaceted professional with 37 years of architectural experience, specializing in school and hospital design. He’s also a poet, author, filmmaker, and environmentalist. Time Magazine recognized his work on Karachi’s mangroves in their July 2022 Oceans Issue. Tariq has presented internationally, including at COP27, and is currently involved in film production and authoring a series of books on the Indus Delta, all while running his architectural practice.