World Bank's Chief Climate Economist Speaks at Upper School Assembly

At April 7's assmebly, Upper School students heard from WIS parent Stéphane Hallegatte, Chief Climate Economist at the World Bank. He started his talk by asking the audience: “How many of you think we will get to net-zero emissions?” When only a few raised their hands, he set out to convince them otherwise. Rather than focus on the negative effects of climate change, Stéphane talked about the positive developments to come out of it. For example, 89% of the world’s countries have committed to net-zero emissions by as early as 2050, which is a promising figure! There is still a delay between the commitment and implementation of these goals, but countries are working hard to make it happen. Stéphane noted that we are close to an important tipping point; at least half of the world’s countries now have declining emissions while still growing their economies, because climate-friendly technologies (solar, wind, electric) have become cheaper and easier to implement over the last several years. 

Stéphane explained that his job at the World Bank is to help countries reach their goals not by telling them what to do but by laying out the facts: how can they combine their goals with the constraints of the world today, but also take advantage of newer technologies that have developed as a result of trying to mitigate or adapt to climate change?

Before taking questions from the audience, Stéphane ended his talk by emphasising the need for the students to get involved, saying, “the only way it happens is if people like you say ‘We will do this.’ We (the World Bank) have taken a lot of people out of poverty. If we want to continue that, we all need to better understand how the world works. It’s looking at basic science, economics, social sciences, psychology, and behavioral sciences and how they work together. It's many different things, but there is a way to take all of this knowledge and to put it at the service of better understanding how we get to a world where we have zero poverty, shared prosperity in the world, and a planet that is healthy and supportive in all that.”

Thank you to Stéphane for taking the time to speak to—and inspire!—our community!