Sally Higgins

Sally is a leader in agriculture and regional Australia, bringing lived experience of climate impacts together with international policy and systems expertise.

Growing up in regional Queensland, Sally has experienced firsthand the impacts of climate change and increasingly variable weather patterns on industries, communities and economies. This grounding shapes her commitment to practical, long‑term solutions that support resilient food systems, viable regional communities and a healthy natural environment.

Sally recently completed an international Nuffield Farming Scholarship, where she researched the drivers of, and responses to, land‑use change, including implications for agricultural land use and regional livelihoods. Her research took her to 14 countries and involved over 100 conversations with farmers, regional community members, researchers, industry leaders and government stakeholders. Through this work, Sally built a strong international network of agricultural and regional leaders and developed a systems‑level understanding of how climate, land use, policy and community outcomes intersect.

Sally remains closely connected to her home community of Allora on the Darling Downs in Queensland. She and her partner, Gus, operate a mixed cattle and cropping farm, giving her a direct, long‑term perspective on the viability of agriculture under a changing climate. This experience grounds her work in the realities faced by regional and frontline communities and reinforces her focus on intergenerational decision‑making.

Over the past five years, Sally has worked in climate and natural resource policy across government and industry. Most recently, she was a Director at the international management consulting firm Nous Group, where she led work on community transition planning, regional economic diversification, supply‑chain planning and natural resource strategy. Through this work, she supported industries and communities to navigate complex transitions in a way that is inclusive, evidence‑based and locally grounded.

Sally is the incoming COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion, responsible for making sure young people have a meaningful and influential voice in global climate decisions. In this role, she works directly with governments, international organisations and youth networks to bring youth priorities into COP31 planning and negotiations, with a focus on practical ideas that can be delivered.

Sally brings to the Presidency Youth Climate Champion a strong passion for regional communities and agriculture and is committed to ensuring that young people – particularly those from regional and climate‑affected communities – have meaningful pathways to shape climate decisions and outcomes.