Apollonia Miola is Principal Advisor on International Climate Finance at DG Climate Action, European Commission, and an EU climate finance negotiator working at the crossroads of science, economics, and global policy.
With over two decades of experience leading research at the Joint Research Centre (JRC), she has shaped cutting-edge economic analysis on climate change, energy transitions, and ecological systems. Her career bridges advanced modelling and real-world decision-making, translating complex science into actionable international policy.
Having advised governments through her work with the OECD and the World Bank, she brings a global perspective on climate finance, sustainable development, and climate resilient growth. She is widely published and committed to advancing evidence-based climate leadership worldwide.

Yolando Velasco, a senior climate advisor at the Department of Finance of the Philippines, has held a distinguished career in climate policy development. He has led the Climate Finance Team of the United Nations Climate Change Convention Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, for 16 years.
Mr. Velasco’s extensive experience spans 32 years and encompasses national and international climate policy development, climate-related project management, and the intergovernmental process on climate finance. His tenure at the UN Climate Change Secretariat, spanning 25 years, has been marked by his leadership in capacity building, non-Annex I national communications, and climate finance.
Prior to his appointment at the secretariat, Mr. Velasco served as a Technical Adviser to the Philippine delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 1992 to 1999. During this period, he actively engaged in negotiations on technology transfer, national communications, and the financial mechanism. Additionally, he contributed to the development of policy and projects focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives in the Philippines.