Patrick V. Verkooijen

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Patrick V. Verkooijen
Patrick V. Verkooijen headshot.jpg
Born (1969-05-21) May 21, 1969 (age 52)
NationalityNetherlands
OccupationCEO of Global Center on Adaptation
Known forBeing the World Bank Special Representative for Climate Change

Patrick V. Verkooijen (born May 21, 1969) is the CEO of Global Center on Adaptation, an international organization hosted by the Netherlands, which acts as the solutions broker to accelerate, innovate and scale adaptation action for a climate-resilient world.[1] In this role he works closely with Ban Ki-moon, architect of the Paris Agreement as 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chairman of the Board of GCA. He also managed the Global Commission on Adaptation chaired by Ban Ki-moon and co-led by Kristalina Georgieva and Bill Gates.[2][3][4] Prior to this role, he was the World Bank Special Representative for Climate Change.[5]

Education[]

Verkooijen holds a PhD in Sustainable Development Diplomacy from Wageningen University. He also achieved an MPA from Harvard University and a master's degree in Social and Political Philosophy from the University of Amsterdam. He has written academic papers focusing on sustainability and governance.[6]

Career[]

In his current role at the Global Center on Adaptation, Verkooijen was the driving force behind the first ever Climate Adaptation Summit, hosted by the Netherlands in January 2021. During the Climate Adaptation Summit he convened the inaugural Ministerial dialogue on climate adaptation in January 2021.[7] With the participation of newly appointed U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry and Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, the dialogue focused on how to accelerate efforts to build forward better from the Covid-19 pandemic. He also spearheaded the Groningen Science Declaration which saw five Nobel Laureates and over 3,000 global scientists call on world leaders, decision-makers and investors, to change the way we understand, plan and invest for a changing climate to ensure we limit future damage.[8] In April 2021 he convened the Global Leaders Dialogue on the Africa Covid-Climate Emergency with the African Development Bank to launch the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program with Dr Akinwumi Adesina.[9] The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program will mobilize $25 billion to scale up and accelerate climate change adaptation across Africa.[10] The Dialogue attracted over 30 heads of state and global leaders committed to prioritize actions that help African countries adapt to climate change and build forward better.[11]

Verkooijen also initiated the first-ever State and Trends in Adaptation report which collates information on the status and trends in adaptation globally and was well received by policy makers and practitioners.[12]

Verkooijen is also focused on ensuring the next generation are educated on climate risks through his role as Chair of the Ban Ki-moon Climate Adaptation Programme at the University of Groningen.[13] He has also been the Professor of Practice of Sustainable Development Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University since January 2010.[12] He regularly speaks in the global media about Climate change and Global warming.[14][15]

From July 2012 Verkooijenwas the World Bank Special Representative for Climate Change.[5] He represented the World Bank in UN meeting on climate change and led the global effort to put a price on carbon ahead of the Paris Summit in 2015.[16][17] As such, he mobilized support from leaders across the globe, including Chancellor Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada, to commit to global goals to expandcarbon pricing to cover 25 percent of global emissions by 2020, and achieve 50 percent coverage within the next decade.[18]

As head of the World Bank's efforts on climate-smart agriculture, Verkooijen spearheaded, in close collaboration with Kofi Annan, the global effort to enhance the triple win of food security, adaptation and mitigation culminating in the adoption of agriculture as part of the UNFCCC and for the first time transforming agriculture from being part of the problem to being part of the solution to climate change.[19]

Media coverage[]

Verkooijen is regularly published in global media outlets including The Guardian,[20] The New York Times,[21] The Washington Post,[22] Reuters[23] and CNN International,[24] and has also appeared on Sky News,[25] CNBC International,[26] BBC[27] and Newsweek.[28]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "About us The Solutions Broker for Adaptation Action". gca.org. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Global Center on Adaptation CEO Verkooijen visits the Ban Ki-moon Centre in Vienna". bankimooncentre.org. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  3. ^ "In today's burning news, UN report says last year was fourth hottest on record". indiatoday.in. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Bill Gates leads global call to accept realities of a warming planet". newscientist.com. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "FNP visiting professor appointed world bank special representative for climate change". wur.nl. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Dr. Patrick Verkooijen CEO - GLOBAL CENTER ON ADAPTATION". planetarysecurityinitiative.org. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  7. ^ "The GCA Ministerial Dialogue has one overarching aim: sustained global leadership cooperation to accelerate adaptation at speed and at scale". CAS2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  8. ^ Adaptation, The Global Center on. "Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) : Nobel Laureates, Global Scientists call on World Leaders to Accelerate Climate Adaptation as part of Post-Covid Economic Stimulus". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  9. ^ "Global leaders support action on climate change for Africa". Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  10. ^ "African presidents and global leaders support bold action on climate change adaptation for Africa". africanews.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  11. ^ "African presidents and global leaders support bold action on climate change adaptation for Africa". gca.org. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. ^ "GCA launches first State and Trends in Adaptation Report". cas2021.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Patrick Verkooijen appointed Chair of University of Groningen's Climate Adaptation Governance Programme". rug.nl. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Living with Climate Change". project-syndicate.org. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Global Center's next chapter: Perspectives from CEO Patrick Verkooijen". gca.org. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  16. ^ Carrington, Damian (3 December 2018). "We are last generation that can stop climate change' – UN summit". theguardian.com. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  17. ^ Jacobsen, Reinhard. "Former UN Chief and Bill Gates on Board as the Netherlands Accelerates Climate Adaptation". indepthnews.net. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  18. ^ "UN warns world on track to breach 3C rise by 2100; last year was fourth warmest on record". abc.net.au. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Ccc: Social Protection, Climate Adaptation, Climate Finance, Us-Ph Socio-Economic Ties, And Climate Resilience In Day 3 Of Wb-Imf Spring Meetings". climate.gov.ph. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Fighting cyclones and coronavirus: how we evacuated millions during a pandemic". theguardian.com. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  21. ^ "The Climate Crisis in Terms Trump Can Understand". nytimes.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Opinion: Don't let rising seas drown the Marshall Islands". washingtonpost.com. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  23. ^ "OPINION: Miami needs allies in its fight to survive climate change". trust.org. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Will we learn lessons for tackling climate change from our current crisis?". edition.cnn.com. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  25. ^ "Appearance On Skynews". Skynews. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of Global Center on Adaptation on CNBC on World Water Day". gca.org. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Priorities for adapting to climate change". bbc.co.uk. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Weather stations underpin effective climate action—We need more of them | Opinion". Newsweek. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
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