ALANAH TORRALBA
Barcelona
Summary
Dynamic climate justice and just transition specialist with a diverse professional background and a proven track record of driving impactful change through innovative learning, movement-building, and advocacy initiatives across Asia, the Pacific, and Europe. Expertise in fostering collaboration among stakeholders to promote sustainable practices and equitable policies. Committed to advancing social and environmental justice through strategic engagement and grassroots mobilization. Passionate about empowering communities to navigate the complexities of climate change while advocating for systemic transformation.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Adviser – Educators for Sustainable Development, Teach for the Planet
Education International Asia-Pacific, Education International
07.2021 - Current
- Chief designer, coordinator and facilitator of Educators for Sustainable Development (E4SD), an educator-led initiative empowering over 65 education unions from more than 30 countries to advance climate justice and a just transition in education through a programmatic capacity-empowerment and network-building approach
- Spearheaded the E4SD Climate Justice Conference in Fiji, Thailand, and Nepal since 2023, convening 200+ education union leaders to advance equity and justice in climate action
- Organized the E4SD Climate Justice webinar, a series of dynamic discussions on the most pressing climate change issues facing educators across the Asia-Pacific
- Produced KLIMA, a quarterly newsletter focused on climate justice issues and the education sector
- Developed advocacy tool kits and a strategic guide on fossil fuel divestment, and authored research tailored for educators, supporting Education International’s global network of education unions to advance the Teach for the Planet campaign
- Represented Education International at COP 26 (Glasgow, Scotland, 2021), where I delivered an opening plenary speech championing the education union’s agenda of a just transition and climate justice — a first at COP
Learning Partner
Pacific Learning Collaborative on Climate Education
02.2023 - 10.2025
- Developed and launched a learning collaborative program geared towards building the capacities of 20+ education rights champions and government representatives from Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, with the goal of advocating for a transformative climate change education agenda
- Facilitated a five-day workshop in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea employing pedagogical tools, learning modules, and practical activities tailored to the socio-cultural contexts of the Pacific
- Conducted a comprehensive baseline assessment survey to map the knowledge levels, skill sets, and advocacy priorities as well as to understand the socio-political realities of the Learning Collaborative participants
- Produced four media learning products (infographic, map of climate impacts on education, graphic recording of workshop outcomes, animated video) to support and amplify the national campaigning and communication efforts of the Learning Collaborative members
Climate Justice Adviser
Building and Woodworkers’ International
05.2024 - 06.2025
- Coordinated learning tours for VISIBLE, a partnership between BWI and C40 Cities piloted in London, Madrid, Oslo and Vienna, aimed at harnessing the potential of cities to curb emissions from the built environment through clean construction while advancing a just transition for workers
- Co-organized BWI’s first-ever Global Climate Justice Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together trade union leaders, experts and allies to reinforce regional and global alliances and nurture confidence in a worker-led just transition, grounded on equity and labor rights
- Supervised and managed research projects supporting BWI’s climate justice program and its strategic objectives
Program Manager – Climate Justice
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
08.2018 - 08.2020
- Coordinated project partnerships with grassroots organizations, academia, think tanks, NGOs, private sector and government officials across the Philippines and Indonesia
- Monitored and evaluated project partnerships in accordance with guidelines and regulations of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
- Consolidated the regional office’s political frameworks on three key climate justice themes: energy democracy, financialization of nature, and just transition
- Represented the organization at COP 24 (Katowice, Poland, 2018) and COP 25 (Madrid, Spain, 2019), producing political analyses on key negotiation outcomes and decisions texts that informed the political work of the Berlin headquarters
Independent Journalist
Manila, Philippines
02.2010 - 07.2018
- Specialized in in-depth reporting on climate change, labor migration, the disability sector and road safety
- Recipient of fellowships including the Climate Tracker Journalism Fellowship at COP 23 (Bonn, Germany, 2017) and the Earth Journalism Network Climate Change Media Partnership at the Global Climate Action Summit (San Francisco, USA, 2018)
- Published widely in international and local media: Thomson Reuters Foundation, CNN Philippines, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS CBN News, etc.
Photojournalist
European Pressphoto Agency
11.2007 - 12.2009
- Documented major political and environmental developments, with my photographs regularly featured in local and international media outlets: The International Herald Tribune (now The International New York Times), The New York Times, Jakarta Post, TIME, Washington Post etc.
Education
Master’s - Political Science
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
07.2021
Diploma - Photojournalism
Asia Center For Journalism – Ateneo De Manila University
09.2008
BA - Journalism
University of The Philippines
11.2007
Skills
- Project reporting
- Workshop and learning facilitation
- Concept note development
- Research
- Project management
- Organizational skills
LANGUAGES
Tagalog
English
Ilocano
Spanish
Timeline
Climate Justice Adviser
Building and Woodworkers’ International
05.2024 - 06.2025
Learning Partner
Pacific Learning Collaborative on Climate Education
02.2023 - 10.2025
Adviser – Educators for Sustainable Development, Teach for the Planet
Education International Asia-Pacific, Education International
07.2021 - Current
Program Manager – Climate Justice
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
08.2018 - 08.2020
Independent Journalist
Manila, Philippines
02.2010 - 07.2018
Photojournalist
European Pressphoto Agency
11.2007 - 12.2009
Master’s - Political Science
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Diploma - Photojournalism
Asia Center For Journalism – Ateneo De Manila University
BA - Journalism
University of The Philippines
WRITING SAMPLES
- Policy Brief: Protecting Migrants in an Overheating Planet | Building and Woodworkers’ International, November 2023
- Towards a Just Transition in the Education Sector: A Strategic Guide on Fossil Fuel Divestment for Education Unions | Education International, November 2023
- Trajectories of Climate Justice: Charting a Path of People-Powered Climate Action (Editor) | IBON International, March 2023
- Educators on a Heating Planet: Shaping Education Unions’ Vision for a Just Transition | Education International, October 2022
- Teach for the Planet: An Education Unionist’s Guide to Climate Education Advocacy | Education International, September 2021
- Rethinking Resilience in the Climate Emergency Era (video) TedX University of the Philippines – Los Baños, May 2021
- Not just Green and New for a Few, but Fair and Radical for All | Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, April 2021
- Diesel or solar: Could a push to power the Philippines turn greener? | Thomson Reuters Foundation, October 2018
- Coal-reliant Philippines struggles to power up clean energy | Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 2018
- Lumad community in Bukidnon turns to prayers in adapting to climate change | ABS CBN News, October 2017
- ‘Our lives are not less than yours’: Yolanda survivors cry climate justice | Interaksyon.com, November 2017