Farai Chireshe
Energy transition, Climate and Sustainability SpecialistFarai is an energy transition, climate and sustainability specialist with over 10 years’ experience working at the intersection of strategy, policy and implementation. He advises governments, international organisations and private-sector partners on translating sustainability and climate ambitions into practical, measurable and investment-ready outcomes.
His expertise spans sustainability and climate mitigation across the energy, transport, industrial and agri-food value chains. Farai leads and contributes to policy and business case development as well as regional collaboration initiatives that align decarbonisation objectives with economic development, energy security and long-term competitiveness.
With deep experience in African and emerging market contexts, he supports institutions in designing credible sustainability frameworks, aligning with international standards and structuring resilient value chains that deliver both environmental integrity and socio-economic impact. He is actively engaged in advancing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) value chain development in Africa, particularly through linking low-carbon fuels to regional agricultural and industrial systems.
Farai holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering and is finalising his PhD focused on developing SAF value chains linked to South Africa’s sugarcane industry. His combined technical, policy and market expertise positions him as a recognised knowledge leader in sustainability and climate-aligned industrial development.
César Velarde
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) specialist and Coordinator for ICAO ACT-SAF Program’s ProjectsACT-SAF Project Coordinator and Cleaner Energy Consultant, Office of Environment, Air Transport Bureau, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). César Velarde joined in March 2024 the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Office of Environment as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) specialist and Coordinator for ICAO ACT-SAF Program’s Projects. He previously worked as environment specialist for the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority (SENASA and AESA) and for the ICAO Technical Cooperation Bureau (TCB, today CDI) between 2014-2017, based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
He has dedicated most of his career to the development and promotion of SAF and from 2013 till 2020 he was co-rapporteur of the ICAO working groups dealing with SAF at its Committee on Aviation and Environmental Protection (CAEP), the ICAO CAEP Alternative Fuels Task Force (AFTF) first and then the ICAO CAEP Fuels Task Group (FTG).
He has been involved on several SAF initiatives and projects in Spain, Europe, and worldwide and holds an engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.