Special Duties Officer at the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat Sufina Raihani binti Haji Mohd Salleh completed the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) on ‘The Climate Crisis: Working Together for Future Generations’ in the United States (US) recently.
Sufina Raihani joined over 70 climate experts, advocates, and policymakers from more than 60 countries to address the climate crisis and its impacts.
The participants visited Washington DC, to learn about US federal government efforts to mitigate the climate crisis; San Francisco, California, to learn about innovative initiatives by industries to improve and restore the environment; New Orleans, Louisiana, to see the challenges of a region dealing with a need to evolve away from extractive industries while actively managing disasters, displacement, and climate injustice; and Miami, Florida, to participate in local efforts in advocating and implementing sustainable practices.
Following completion of the programme, Sufina Raihani met with US Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Caryn McClelland to discuss lessons learnt from the programme and explore how Brunei can work together with the US to combat the climate crisis.
McClelland also presented a certificate of completion to Sufina Raihani.
“Tackling the climate crisis is at the centre of US foreign policy, diplomacy, and national security,” said Ambassador McClelland.
“This IVLP initiative is one of the ways the US government is demonstrating its commitment to addressing the climate crisis by bringing participants from around the world together to share best practices and collaborate together,” she added.
The US is also supporting the establishment of the new ASEAN Centre for Climate Change (ACCC), based in Brunei, through technical exchanges with the premier US climate experts.
The US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has provided trainings that expand the ACCC’s capacity for decarbonisation research, disaster management planning, and other initiatives.
The International Visitor Leadership Programme is the US Department of State’s premier professional exchange programme, connecting current and emerging foreign leaders with their American counterparts through short-term programmes to build mutual understanding on a wide range of issues.
