Sara Yrjönmäki

Sara is a network member and a former  Intern (Research, Collaboration, and Innovation) at the PlanAdapt Coordination Hub.

As a fresh graduate of the MSc Environment and Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Sara had joined PlanAdapt to refine her research interests in supporting local-level climate adaptation activities. Specifically, she aims to further focus on innovative financing mechanisms and relationships that enable the prioritization of locally specific adaptation needs.

In her previous work, Sara has engaged with social and environmental topics with stakeholders ranging from Finnish municipal leadership to UN agencies and multinational corporate heads. At the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, she worked to develop the newly-founded Secretariat’s engagement strategy and completed initial desk research for the Circular Economy Action Agenda, which outlines pathways to circularity in five different material streams. During her time at the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, Sara provided support for all phases of report development and project management in multiple themes, providing essential support to for instance the inception of the report “Tackling Root Causes: Halting Biodiversity Loss through the Circular Economy”.

With a background in International Studies, Sara is eager to work with international colleagues and projects alike, combining knowledge from various disciplines. Having focused her BSc and MSc studies on supportive and inhibitive structures for climate adaptation in Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa respectively, she is keen to further explore how relationships between the Global North and South can be leveraged to promote social and environmental justice.

For more info, see Sara’s Linkedin page