Youba Sokona

Professor Sokona, with decades of experience in the fields of energy, the environment, and sustainable development in Africa, has been at the forefront of numerous national and continental initiatives. He is the co-founder of the African Institute for Sustainable Energy and Systems Analysis (AISESA). He served as Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the Sixth Assessment Report, having previously served as Co-Chair of Working Group III for the Fifth Assessment Report, and as a Lead Author since 1990.

In 2007, he received a personal certificate from the Nobel Committee recognizing his “significant contribution” to the work of the IPCC, which was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year. He has extensive experience in the leadership and management of institutions, as evidenced by his roles as the first Coordinator of the African Center for Climate Policy and as Executive Secretary of the Sahara and Sahel Observatory.

He is a member of numerous renowned scientific councils and organizations. For example, he is an Honorary Professor at University College London, a member of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the African Academy of Sciences, and the International Council for Science, an associate member of the National Academy of Sciences and Technology of Senegal, and an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of Mali.