GLENN SUERTE FELIPE  BANAGUAS

Founder and Chairperson, Climate Smart and Disaster Resilient ASEAN
Chairperson, US-ASEAN Fellows for Science and Technology
Chairperson, Asian (ASEAN) Science Diplomats
Climate Diplomat, EU-Asia Expert Panel for Climate Diplomacy
Fellow, Philippine Council for Foreign Relations
President, Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute

Glenn S. Banaguas is a multi-awarded prolific scientist, diplomat, educator, and one of the leading experts on environment, climate change, and disaster risks in Asia. He analyzes conundrums brought by climate change/variability and extreme events using scientific models, mathematical simulations, and data analytics; applies participatory methods to program development; and recommends science-based policy solutions.

He was conferred as the Asia  Leader Award for Sustainability Leadership. He is the youngest honoree of the most distinguished The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Laureate in the field of Environment Conservation and Science Diplomacy. He is also the recipient of Outstanding Young Scientist (OYS) of the Philippines for Environmental Management conferred by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). He is a grantee of the Royal Society, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) for solar radiation management; recipient of the Philippines’s Men and Women of Science, Outstanding Agro-Fishery Scientific Paper-Gold Awardee, and AIESEC’s Outstanding Leadership Award. His work is recognized in ASEAN Champions for Biodiversity and Environmental Hero Award in the Philippines; ASEAN Risk Awards in Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Asian Professional Award and Real Impact Awards in London, United Kingdom; Global Water Partnership (GWP) Water Changemaker Awards in Stockholm, Sweden; Elliason Global Leadership Awards in New York and Harvard’s Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is also part of the team that won The Rockefeller Foundation Food System Vision Prize - Special Mention Award.

He is the first Filipino who was awarded by the US Department of State for science and technology in the field of climate change and sustainable energy. And he is also the first Filipino who was featured by “The Big Idea”, a US Mission to ASEAN platform that features people who have made significant contributions in South East Asia.

He has been invited as a Keynote and Plenary Speaker for more than 100 international and national conferences; has received grants from government agencies and development institutions; has led more than 1000 projects and programs; has published over 100 articles in professional journals; and has organized more than 50 webinars for the span of two years.

He has done various consultancy works: Project Development Specialist for Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Projects of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Country Representative/Technical Consultant for the Design of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in the Philippines of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); Team Leader/Senior Project Development Expert and Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Specialist of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

He is the Vice President of Korea’s Society of Open Innovation, Technology, Market, and Complexity (SOITMC); Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Asia Pacific Network (APN); Member of the Technical Panel of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology (PCIEERD-DOST); Member of the Technical Working Group on Climate Change and Disaster Risk, Commission on Higher Education (CHED); Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR).

He is the European Union (EU)-Asia Expert Panel Member for climate diplomacy and environmental security; the Chairperson of the Asian Science Diplomats; the Chairperson of the U.S.-ASEAN Fellows for Science and Technology of the US Department of State, US Mission to ASEAN, ASEAN Secretariat, and ASEAN Foundation; and a Member of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); and also the Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Statweather Institute, the humanitarian arm of Statweather, which has garnered the achievement of the #1 Climate Technology in the World by Environmental Business International (2018) and has also received distinction as the #1 Data Services Company in the World by Energy Risk.

He is the Founder and President of Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute (ECCRI) that brings “science and policy” to the poorest communities and marginalized sectors in the country through cutting-edge research projects. He founded the Climate Smart and Disaster Resilient Philippines: A Track-Risk-Impact-Policy (T-R-I-P) to Resiliency and Sustainability (formerly known as Climate Smart Philippines), which is the flagship program of ECCRI, provides cutting-edge research, training and capacity building to all the stakeholders in the country to combat climate change and disaster risks, which focuses on food security, sustainable energy, water sufficiency, human security, ecological and environmental stability, knowledge management and capacity development, and climate-smart infrastructures and services. As to date, he has trained and capacitated more than 700 government institutions (e.g. national, provincial, and local government units), more than 300 universities and colleges, more than 300 CSOs, NGOs, and POs (community of farmers, fisherfolks, indigenous people, youth, women, PWDs, Church leaders), and more than 300 representatives of the private sector on how to develop science and evidenced-based projects to access multilateral funds such as Green Climate Fund (GCF), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and domestic funding like the People’s Survival Fund (PSF).

Glenn is the Founder of two highly recognized ASEAN events: a. ASEAN Science Diplomats Assembly (ASEAN Science Diplomacy Program, now Asian Science Diplomacy), a training and capacity building workshop for Outstanding Scientists and Engineers in South East Asia, which helps the scientists to engage with decision-makers from Executive and Legislative Branches to broaden their perspectives on how science and policy can interact to improve decision-making.; and b. Climate Smart and Disaster Resilient ASEAN, which brings together leading academic scientists, researchers, scholars, government agencies, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders to share their experiences and research results on aspects of climate change and disaster risks in South East Asia. This provides trans-disciplinary platforms for relevant stakeholders to present and discuss innovations, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered in the field of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management (CCA-DRRM).

He studied Climate Change and Energy at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University and took Sustainability Leadership from the Center of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University. He also took Applied Remote Sensing Technology from the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA).