Introducing The George Institute’s COP 29 Delegation

We are delighted to announce that The George Institute will be sending a delegation to the Conference of Parties (COP 29), the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held from 11 November – 22 November in Baku, Azerbaijan. The George Institute values the opportunity to engage with this unique platform for global collaboration, policy development, networking, knowledge transfer, and advocacy, all of which are essential for advancing evidence-informed action on planetary health. 

Meet the COP29 delegation

During Week 1, we are thrilled to support the participation of Dr Harshita Umesh, who will be serving as the Co-Contact Point for the Health Working Group of the official children and youth constituency of the UNFCCC – YOUNGO. You can learn more about her profile and connect with her here.

During Week 2, we are thrilled to have members of our Neurology and Mental Health research and Impact & Engagement teams attend - collectively advocating for world leaders to centre the voices of communities whose health, wellbeing and futures have been most impacted, ensuring they are at the heart of national climate action plans and debate.

Chhavi Bhandari

Chhavi Bhandari

Chhavi is Head, Impact and Engagement (India and Multilaterals), working from India on a programme of advocacy, policy, stakeholder engagement and thought leadership. She is the Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Centre for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Environmental Change and a member of the WHO-Civil Society Working Group to Advance Action on Climate & Health. She also co-leads the West Pacific and South-East Asia regional hub for COP² advocacy network. 

Mercian Daniel

Mercian Daniel is Senior Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health India. He has an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Psychiatric Social Work and Public Health respectively. He has coordinated and conducted large-scale multi-site research studies employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. He is proficient in engaging with health sector personnel as well as with community members and in using various participatory health research techniques among these groups. His interest lies in evaluating mental health interventions and the impact of climate change on the wellbeing of adolescents and young people in India and low-and middle-income countries.     

Mercian Daniel

Get in touch

As we prepare for COP29, we welcome connections with other delegates to learn about upcoming plans for engaging with the Conference. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or are interested in scheduling a meeting at the COP.

Stay tuned: Follow us on social media for the latest updates on our activities and progress at COP29.