By Manali Amitav, MBA2026
This summer, I stepped into what had long been a dream. Working at the United Nations Climate Secretariat in Germany. As a first year MBA at LBS, I’ve spent the past year thinking about how the skills we build in finance, operations, strategy and entrepreneurship can be applied to the world’s most pressing problems. Climate change, for me, has always stood out as the defining challenge of our entire generation: not only an environmental crisis, but also a profound economic and human one. The WHO projects at least 250,000 annual deaths from climate-related causes by 2050, a number that could surpass deaths from wars and rival health scourges like malaria or HIV. Unless urgent action is taken, climate change will become one of the largest drivers of human mortality this century.
My internship at the Global Innovation Hub of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) gave me a front-row seat to the global response and the chance to contribute to shaping what a more sustainable and climate resilient future could look like.
From London to Bonn: A Journey of Perspectives
My internship began virtually in April, while I was still in London finishing my first-year MBA courses. From the start, I was struck by the scale of the work, bringing together governments, investors, innovators, and cultural leaders (we even got on a call with the Office of the Pope at Vatican City!) to co-create solutions that could deliver impact at a planetary level. By June, I relocated to the UNFCCC Campus in Bonn (Germany), and suddenly the abstract became tangible. Walking through the halls filled with diplomats and experts from every continent, I felt the pulse of a truly global community united by a shared purpose. All this with the most beautiful view of the river Rhine, a quiet reminder of nature’s resilience and the stakes of the work unfolding inside.
Witnessing Climate Diplomacy Up Close
One of the most surreal experiences of my summer was witnessing international climate negotiations in action. These are the spaces where the headlines we read about: climate pledges, finance flows, pathways to net zero are debated, negotiated, and written. Sitting in those rooms, I realised the weight of every word and comma in an agreement. Behind each policy point are lives: families displaced by floods, communities vulnerable to rising heat, industries grappling with transformation. To watch countries find common ground despite political or economic differences was both humbling and deeply inspiring.
Lessons in Collaboration and Innovation
Beyond negotiations, what struck me most about the UN was the way it brings together such a diverse range of perspectives. My work revolved around exploring how innovation, whether through technology, finance, or new business models, can drive systemic change. That meant working on co-creating and scoping of large-scale global innovation projects, while rethinking traditional financial instruments leveraged for climate action. For me, as an MBA student, it was a powerful lesson that business is not peripheral to these conversations, it is central. Markets and capital flows will determine the speed of our transition, and business leaders have an extraordinary responsibility to make that transition just and ambitious.
This summer reinforced a belief I’ve carried with me for years: climate change is about rethinking the way industries operate, the jobs of the future, and the flows of capital that can unlock solutions at scale. For LBS students, this is a call to see our careers not just as professional journeys, but as opportunities to contribute to global change. The skills we are developing, in finance, operations, entrepreneurship, are urgently needed to steer the world toward a more resilient and inclusive future.
Looking Ahead
As I look ahead to upcoming work in New York (for New York Climate Week), Rio de Janeiro (pre-COP), and COP30 in Belém, I feel both gratitude and resolve. Gratitude for having had the chance to live a dream this summer. And resolve to carry these lessons forward into my second year at LBS and a career I hope to build at the intersection of business, innovation, and climate action.
Dreams, I’ve realised, are not destinations. They are springboards, into purpose, into responsibility, and into impact. I am excited to connect with students who are interested in this space or want to think about the bigger challenges of the world!