About CAN

The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of roughly 500 Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.

CAN members work to achieve this goal through information exchange and the coordinated development of NGO strategy on international, regional, and national climate issues. CAN has seven regional offices which co-ordinate these efforts in Africa, Australia, Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

CAN members place a high priority on both a healthy environment and development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland Commission). Climate Action Network's vision is to protect the atmosphere while allowing for sustainable and equitable development worldwide.

Staff

David Turnbull, Director

David began as the Director of Climate Action Network – International in October 2008. He works to coordinate the Network, which includes hundreds of NGOs in dozens of countries working together to develop and advocate for global solutions to the climate crisis. Before serving as Director of CAN-International, David was Communications Director of the US Climate Action Network, where he coordinated joint communications efforts for US NGOs, as well as for CAN-International at UNFCCC negotiations. Before joining the CAN family, David worked at the World Resources Institute as a Coordinator for a pair of international networks working to promote inclusive and accountable environmental governance. In a previous incarnation, David spent time observing the “world’s worst weather” and conducting climate research at the Mount Washington Weather Observatory in New Hampshire. He was born and raised in the Washington, DC area and received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in Geography and Environmental Studies.

Shruti Shukla, Southern Capacity Program Coordinator

Shruti has more than 4 years experience within the Non-profit sector. For the past three years she worked extensively on Climate Change and Energy issues with a prominent Conservation organization in India. She has managed campaigns on Energy Conservation in partnership with the Industry in Delhi. Further she has managed the Indian component of an earlier CAN International project with multiple partners in key Emerging Economies on the Capacity Building on the Post 2012 Treaty under the UNFCCC. She holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Policy, Planning and Regulation from the London School of Economics and also holds a Masters in Business Economics from the University of Delhi. By her own description, she is keenly interested in furthering the discussion around crosscutting issues of Equity, Development and Climate Policy.

Julie-Anne Richards, International Policy Coordinator

For the past year Julie-Anne has been coordinating Oxfam Australia’s policy and advocacy work on the issue of climate change, specifically its impact on people in developing countries and Australia’s involvement in international climate change negotiations. Julie-Anne was one of the Oxfam International team at the Poznan, and Bonn2 meetings. She co-authored Oxfam’s recent influential Hang Together or Separately report, which outlines a global mitigation and finance mechanism. From 2003 to 2008 Julie-Anne was the Executive Officer at Climate Action Network Australia (CANA). During that time she more than doubled CANA’s membership and staff resources, as well as coordinating the development of extensive policy across CANA members. Julie-Anne has attended the UN climate negotiations since 2004. She has actively participated in CAN during that time, participating in CAN working groups, the political coordination group, Board level steering group, and coordinated 2 capacity building sessions for CAN members. Julie-Anne was on the Board of CAN-I in 2008. In her own words, Julie-Anne works in this area because of a deep sense of injustice that rich countries have created the pollution that is leading to the climate change dramatically impacting the lives of people in developing countries. She works to help contribute to a fair and effective global climate change deal. Julie-Anne has a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Masters in Business and Technology from the University of New South Wales.

Montana Burgess, Program Coordinator

Montana Burgess has been with the CAN family since 2008, where she splits her time between CAN-International and CAN Canada (CAN-RAC). She holds a Bachelor¹s of Science degree, with a focus on plant ecology, from Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Before working with CAN, Montana worked for two years as a research assistant where she studied grassland plant ecology, including plant community responses to predicted climate change models. At this time she was also involved in university and municipal environmental activism and founded a student environmental group. Currently, Montana works out of Ottawa, Canada, where she enjoys using her French and English.

Matt Maiorana, Program Assistant

Matt spent the past two years serving as the SustainUS policy coordinator, organizing the development of policy stances relevant to international negotiations for SustainUS, an organization that sends youth delegates to UN negotiations. In this role, he worked extensively with CAN-I and international youth at the Bali and Poznan climate negotiations. Based on this experience, Matt joined CAN-I as an intern this past spring, where he assisted with organizational support in D.C. and at the Bonn intersessionals. When not living in conference centers, Matt has spent time interning with the US Congress and the State Department. He will be returning to school this winter to complete his degree at College of the Atlantic, where he studies human ecology and international political theory.

The Three Track Approach

The Climate Action Network promotes a parallel three track approach to mitigating climate change which includes a Kyoto track, a ‘Greening’ (decarbonisation) track, and an Adaptation track. The goal of this approach is to facilitate action that will prevent harmful climate change and keep global warming as far below 2°C as possible.