World Bank | The Development Podcast

Episode: Journey to a Livable Planet

Release Date: August 9, 2024
Host: Sarah Trina and the World Bank Team

Episode Overview

This episode of The Development Podcast serves as a global tour of ideas, voices, and research around the World Bank’s new mission: “Ending poverty on a livable planet.” The episode compiles inspiring stories, expert analysis, and lived experiences from different regions—Samoa, Kenya, India, Rwanda, and beyond—to unpack what a “livable planet” really means in practice. Key topics include climate action, migration, youth advocacy, jobs of the future (especially green jobs), gender equality, economic inclusion, and the crucial link between nature and sustainable development.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining the Mission: Poverty Alleviation on a Livable Planet

• Ajay Banga (World Bank Group President) outlines the new vision for the World Bank at the 2023 Annual Meetings:
  • “We must find a way to finance a different world where our climate is protected, where pandemics are manageable, if not preventable, where food is abundant and fragility and poverty are defeated... the World Bank is turning to face the wind.” [01:32]
  • The World Bank is focused not only on ending poverty but doing so in a manner that maintains a habitable, thriving planet.

2. Youth Leadership and the Lived Experience of Climate Change

• Brianna Frewen (Samoa, Youth Climate Activist) shares a personal account:
  • Describes Samoa as “picture perfect... clear waters, white sandy beaches” and recalls the shift when climate change became personal through the visible effects of coral bleaching and increasing cyclones. [03:17]
  • “I started to physically and emotionally encapsulate what climate change was because I realized that I was living in it.” [03:50 & 01:01]
• Importance of youth in climate advocacy emphasized:
  • “Young people realize [the climate emergency] more than anybody else.” – Anuba Shukla [00:36 & 13:14]

3. Global Inequalities in Climate Responsibility

• Inger Andersen (UN Environment Programme):
  • Highlights disparity: “G20... is where we have this 76% of all emissions... If we look at 10% of the highest income population, they are responsible for 48% of all emissions. If we look at the bottom 50% of the world population, they are responsible for just 12% of emissions.” [04:45-05:16]
  • Underscores the deep injustice and burden-sharing imbalance underlying the climate crisis.

4. Climate Change, Migration, and Humanitarian Response

• Ralph Mazu (UNHCR):
  • As climate change exacerbates resource scarcity, it increasingly drives migration and conflict:
    • “You find societies... which no longer have access to water, no longer have access to arable land, and that is creating conflict.” [06:27]
• Abdullahi Khaimre (UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award Winner):
  • Fled Somalia, raised in Dadaab refugee camp:
    • “When it doesn’t rain, they lose livestock and... flee to look for safety and... better places. Dadaab is a safe haven for people who are fleeing the war, [and] the climate change...” [07:27]
    • Champions storytelling and information as forms of aid: “Information itself is aid. It can save people.” [07:55]
• Xavier Devicta (World Bank, World Development Report):
  • The financial cost of integrating refugee children into national education systems is manageable for the international community and brings long-term social benefits:
    • “...the total cost is... about $300 million a year... very small for the international community.” [08:24]
• Nancy Karamburyongo (Entrepreneur, Kakuma Camp):
  • Grassroots entrepreneurship and skill-building for refugees and host communities can create economic opportunities and strengthen social ties. [10:15]

5. Green Jobs, Youth Opportunities, and Economic Transformation

• Manoj Sinha (CEO, Husk Power):
  • Founded Husk Power to address lack of energy access in Indian rural areas, using renewables from the outset:
    • “We have pioneered this method of decentralized electrification... for rural people who are disproportionately adversely impacted... We didn’t want to use fossil fuel because we wanted to be cognizant of climate change.” [11:37]
• Anuba Shukla (VP, D2R, Husk Power; Solar Engineer):
  • Discusses the future of renewable jobs, especially for young, fast-growing populations:
    • “Renewable jobs are going to be a very important part of the growth story of any growing nation.” [13:44]
    • Green jobs offer meaningful work and can be more inclusive, particularly of women and youth:
      • “Since [solar energy is] a relatively newer industry, legacy jobs aren’t as old or require as much experience as they would in any other industries that have existed for generations.” [13:44]

6. Gender Equality as an Economic Force

• Geeta Gopinath (IMF, First Deputy Managing Director):
  • Closing the gender gap is not just moral—it’s smart economics:
    • “If they can increase their labor force participation rates by around 6 percentage points, then they can raise their GDP by about 8%... These are sizable gains and absolutely critical.” [15:02]
• Maryse Mbonyumutua (Rwanda Entrepreneur):
  • Outlines initiatives for inclusion and worker well-being (free lunch, nursery, menstrual products, female leadership), embodying how women’s empowerment and social responsibility go hand-in-hand. [16:12]

7. Rethinking Economic Growth—Valuing Nature and Forests

• Valerie Hickey (World Bank, Global Director of Environment):
  • Critiques the “grow now, clean up later” paradigm:
    • “For too long we talked about conservation when it came to forestry... It’s okay for you to stay poor as long as the trees stand. And that’s not okay... Forests and the ecosystem services they provide are the only path out of poverty.” [17:57]
  • Deforestation and land degradation directly undermine food security and livelihoods, especially in vulnerable regions.
• Christian Somper (Bezos Earth Fund):
  • Advocates for indigenous-led solutions for managing forests and biodiversity:
    • “When these communities are empowered... the rate of deforestation in these areas is substantially reduced.” [19:46]

8. World Bank’s Internal Culture Shift—Perspectives from Staff

• O'Neill Massamba (African Diaspora Fellow, World Bank):
  • Reflects on the meaning and significance of the World Bank’s new mission:
    • “Ending poverty on a livable planet really showcases a holistic approach to development that not only seeks to balance human well-being with environmental consideration, but also highlights the correlation between the two and how the two are intertwined.” [20:31 & 21:58]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I felt like I was blessed to grow up in paradise. And... a very big problem that I felt was about to take away this paradise for me was climate change.”
  — Brianna Frewen [03:17]
• “We asked those 300 million people living in tropical forests... to forego their development. It’s okay for you to stay poor as long as the trees stand. And that’s not okay... Forests and the ecosystem services they provide are the only path out of poverty.”
  — Valerie Hickey [17:57]
• “Information itself is aid. It can save people.”
  — Abdullahi Khaimre [07:55]
• “If you think of emerging market and developing economies, if they can increase their labor force participation rates by around 6 percentage points, then they can raise their GDP by about 8%... absolutely critical.”
  — Geeta Gopinath [15:02]
• “Young people realize [the climate emergency] more than anybody else.”
  — Anuba Shukla [13:14]
• “...a livable planet means... climate change, environmental stewardship, but it also means things like health services and access to energy and clean water and clean air.”
  — Anna Bjarde (World Bank, Managing Director of Operations) [05:21]

Chronological Timeline of Key Segments

• [00:36] Opening frames: The climate crisis as this generation’s defining challenge.
• [01:32] Ajay Banga articulates new World Bank mission.
• [03:04-04:32] Brianna Frewen’s personal journey from Samoa and awakening to climate change.
• [04:45-05:16] Inger Andersen on global emissions inequality.
• [05:21-05:59] Anna Bjarde on integrating “livable planet” into the World Bank’s core mission.
• [06:27-07:27] Ralph Mazu and Abdullahi Khaimre on migration and the impact of climate on displacement.
• [08:24] Xavier Devicta on integrating refugee children in schools.
• [10:15] Grassroots entrepreneurship with Nancy Karamburyongo in Kenya’s Kakuma camp.
• [11:37-13:00] Manoj Sinha on founding Husk Power and the opportunity of green energy.
• [13:14-14:33] Anuba Shukla on the promise of green jobs and inclusivity.
• [15:02-16:05] Geeta Gopinath and Maryse Mbonyumutua discuss gender equality and real-world business inclusion.
• [17:57-19:27] Valerie Hickey and Christian Somper on forests, economics, and empowering local communities.
• [20:31-21:58] O'Neill Massamba reflects on the World Bank’s mission and personal impact.

Conclusion

“Journey to a Livable Planet” weaves together urgent climate realities, the voices of young advocates, bold new economic thinking, and frontline stories of adaptation and inclusion. The episode underscores that creating a sustainable, equitable, and livable world requires deep collaboration—across borders, generations, and sectors—guided by both science and empathy.

For further exploration:

• Contact: thedevelopmentpodcast@worldbank.org
• Previous episodes: World Bank Development Podcast