On #EarthDay , I’m filled with hope that in fact we can bend the arc of history towards clean, green and resilient development.

Because it’s been done - just look at Beijing or Mexico City or Los Angeles or all those other places that have cleaned their air

Yes we can!

Best description of #ClimateChange by Meike van Ginneken at #WBGMeetings

Climate mitigation=CO2

Climate adaptation=H2O

We experience the #ClimateCrisis when our home floods, or crops fail. When our car stalls in a flooded street & we miss a day’s pay. When dirty water makes us sick

Shocking numbers on #AirPollution from Jane Burston during #WBGMeetings

7m dead/yr
6% global GDP welfare losses

And yet…
This problem form hell gets less than 1% of global development financing and less than 2% of climate finance

#CleanAir is the intentional byproduct of clean energy investments that are also an agenda to #EndPoverty and combat the #ClimatCrisis …. Clean air is an asset that accelerates strong economies ….from Arunabha Ghosh at #WBGMeetings

Want to grow fast? Grow green!

The world doesn’t need World Bank to have just another meeting to combat #AirPollution , it needs real solutions, properly financed to unlock #LivableAir ….from Axel van Trotsenburg’s call to action at #WBGMeetings

Let’s bend the curve of air pollution deaths from 7m/yr to ZERO!

Lead poisoning kills 5m people/yr. & wipes ~ 800m IQ points from kids every/yr. Costing economies $6tr/year

That’s how my #WBGmeeting started today. Talking about how to #EndPoverty by ending lead poisoning Center for Global Development

We can end lead poisoning - together

cgdev.org/event/towards-…

Listen in to an already fascinating call to action from Atul Gawande to stop lead poisoning

On #IntlForestsDay , there is a sobering irony we cannot ignore: some of the world’s financially poorest people are asked to protect, at their expense, the world’s richest natural capital

This is an irony we must break

How? #ForestsForUs

youtube.com/watch?v=_Ii4Ek…

Happy international forests day - World Bank we celebrate forests as an engine of jobs, energy access, climate adaptation (& mitigation) and a home for amazing #biodiversity

Hear from our partners below how they’ve made that engine work for them

worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/…

To all the women today on #WomensDay , and everyday, who hold up the world and who built the path that I can walk today, thank you.

Huge thanks to Rwanda Environment Management Authority and State Minister Dr. Claudine Uwera for such a warm welcome to everyone participating at #NCForum24 today in #Kigali

Not only is Rwanda’s story of growing fast by being #GreenRwanda contagious, so too is their incredible drumming and dancing!

#visitrwanda

On #WorldWildlifeDay ten years ago when I wrote the blog below, wildlife crime was decimating populations of #rhino , #elephant

Today, thanks to the hard work of African countries and communities, the world didn’t lose the fight against wildlife crime

blogs.worldbank.org/voices/Fight-t…

. World Health Organization (WHO) ‘s Dr Maria Neira reminds us at #UNEA6 despite there being no glory in prevention including for checmicals #pollution , countries have experience doing it anyway

Though it took 40 years, #lead was finally removed from gasoline in every country when #Algeria did it in 2021

As I get older I worry about who will take up the baton to keep tackling the triple #environmental crisis

Luckily I don’t worry much because I meet young professionals like Shannon Lisa Shannon Lisa 🧪 who gave a compelling call to action on chemicals pollution at #UNEA6

Chemistry is a man’s job

Wrong!

Not in 2023 when SteffiLemke led a team of German women to deliver the #GlobalFrameworkonChemicals

Not in 2024 at #UNEA6 where a panel on chemical #pollution & its chemistry, engineering & policy is 6 women (and the ever impressive Rolph Payet)

The linear economy didn’t happen by act of God. It came about by act of govt decree

Better regulations are key to building a #circulareconomy , incl repurposing the $1.25tr spent annually on #subsides to make circular business models cost competitive

unep.org/events/unea/le…

Join us tomorrow for the #UNEA6 event with participation of World Bank Environment’s Global Director Valerie Hickey discussing opportunities of #seaweed as a nature-based solution for people and planet.

The generous hospitality of the people of wild and windswept #Karakalpakstan in #Uzbekistan blew me away.

The landscapes are wide open spaces; the people inventive, inspiring and kind.

Sometimes we forget that #climate change isn’t just another threat to some people and some lands.

It’s the ultimate, existential threat.

It’s what will end them. Their lives. Their countries.

Nowhere is this more real than in atoll nations.

wrld.bg/GeYI50QASMz

One of the privileges of working World Bank is listening & learning to colleagues. Today I was lucky enough to have a great discussion on #LivablePlanet with the Bank team across #CentralAsia .

A big thanks to the hospitality of Marco Mantovanelli and the whole team in #Tashkent