SHE Advocates for Climate Action

By Natalie Sifuma

For a little over a decade, corporate law was part of Elena Balbekova’s day-to-day life. She was living in Ukraine at the time, but a nagging feeling – one that comes when you feel unfulfilled with your work – cued an alteration of her discourse. 

When in 2012 Elena decided to move to London to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Administration at the London School of Economics, she was hopeful that education would help her find the next step in her career.

The aha moment came in the form of a school project that required her time and attention on the Kyoto Protocol, the pioneer international climate treaty that had been set to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It had been a key topic within most climate conversations since 1992, and as Elena spent hours understanding the mechanisms and impact of the treaty, she was conscious of a growing need within her to become a climate action advocate. 

In 2014, two years after she’d begun her Masters, Elena graduated and returned home with certainty of the next course in her professional life. And though this would be the case, she was also acutely aware of the fact that she was going back to an entirely different country than the one she’d left, as the Revolution of Dignity had altered the national leadership and the global state of the Republic of Ukraine. 

With a rebranded country came new needs within state leadership. Elena, eager to position herself in environmental policy and advocacy, landed a job in the country’s Ministry of Environment. Unfortunately, at the time, there was still strife in the country as Ukrainians who’d lost their loved ones were trying to rebuild, but also, Russia had launched an attack on Ukraine and was forcefully occupying the eastern region. Because of these, climate issues were not a top priority for the new regime. Elena had two choices: to do the work she was employed to do, and work against all odds to show Ukraine’s standing on climate matters – or stay put until the Ministry was deemed important against other pressing issues. She opted for the former.

It took a lot of confidence and just as much if not more dedication to set up Ukraine’s first Climate Policy Department. Elena did this concurrently with another key role: offering strategic advice to the Ministry. Her role required a lot of conversations, which often needed just the right amount of persuasion – and soon, her day-to-day evolved to include the activities of a spokesperson.

The job was far from easy, but it presented her unique opportunities, which scaled her enthusiasm for the work she was committed to. As she became a focal point for Ukraine, Elena was in charge of leading various dialogues with international climate organisations, managing communication regarding the climate challenges and setbacks Ukraine was facing at the time, and even wore her lawyer cap on occasion when she was negotiating with international partners. 

Ensuring things got done and got done effectively was her aim, and with each day, month and subsequently year, Elena came to understand how vital the climate crisis is. And in this dedication to a career in climate change and sustainable energy transition, Elena realised that there was much more to learn, and so she went back to the source. She accepted an offer from the Chinese government to join a programme at Peking University. There she focused her research and dissertation on Sustainable Energy Transition according to the Paris Agreement for six major economies. After three exhilarating years, in 2019 she firmly clasped her Doctorate of Philosophy. 

Determined to implement her knowledge in her work, Elena was careful to ensure her professional focus was always related to the most acute topics of climate change, energy transition and sustainability. In 2020 she started a new role at the British Embassy Kyiv as an Economic, Energy and Climate Change Adviser. She has since tirelessly devoted her time to being an agent of change in sustainability and energy transition

At the start of 2023 she was invited to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where our team first encountered her brilliance. After a few exchanges, she graciously accepted our invitation to be our SHE Changes Climate ambassador for Ukraine. 

Elena Balbekova is a force to be reckoned with – there’s no doubt about that!