Melissa Low is a Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions. At the Centre, Melissa leads Continuing Education and Training. She previously worked at the Energy Studies Institute, NUS where she carried out research projects on a range of energy and climate issues of concern to Singapore and the region. She has participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) for over a decade and is an active sustainability thought leader, authoring, publishing and presenting at various forums.
She is the Designated Contact Point for NUS’s accreditation to the UNFCCC and currently serves as interim co-focal point on the nine-member Steering Committee of the Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organisation (RINGO) Constituency under the UNFCCC. Melissa holds an LLM in Climate Change Law and Policy (with distinction) from the University of Strathclyde, MSc in Environmental Management and BSocSci (Hons) in Geography from NUS. For her Master’s thesis on past and contemporary proposals on equity and differentiation in shaping the 2015 climate agreement, Melissa was awarded the Shell Best Dissertation Award 2013. She is currently pursuing a PhD part-time at the NUS Department of Geography.
In 2021, Melissa was conferred the NEA EcoFriend Award and the Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat) for her contributions towards environmental sustainability, climate change awareness and impact on youth. She serves as Chair of the Climate Action SG Alliance, Advisor to the #GreenHacks Youth Panel, a Council Member of the 16th and 17th National Youth Council and Committee Member of the Speak Good English Movement. She is also and a panellist on the Speak Good English Movement Programmes Evaluation Panel. She previously served as a Member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) Long Term Aspirational Goal Task Group (LTAG-TG) and Advisory Committee Member for the MSE SG Eco Fund and Chief Curator of the National Youth Council’s Young ChangeMakers Programme. In March 2023, Melissa was appointed to the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 mechanism Roster of experts as “Climate Policy Expert” for two years. In April 2024, she was appointed to the Ministry of Education Headquarters (MOE HQ) Syllabus Development Committee for Lower Secondary Geography.
Outside of work, Melissa started an eco-friendly/ social book swop movement in Singapore, called Books and Beer, which has been featured in The Straits Times, The Business Times, Bangkok Post and The Wall Street Journal’s Scene Asia Blog.