Green Finance Blossoms
The perfect storm is right now
The world is facing the perfect storm for environmental change. We are at the most exciting time to fight climate disaster in the last four years. The US is set to rejoin the Paris Agreement, China announced it will be carbon neutral in 40 years, and the mid-November Green Horizon Summit hosted by the City of London saw a handful of key regulatory and financial advances.
Despite weather-related catastrophes like wildfires in California and massive flooding in parts of Asia during his term, outgoing President Trump stuck to his early decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. Incoming President Biden, instead, affirms his intention to lead a diplomatic initiative to go beyond its current goals of keeping the temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius this century. Sustainability is central to the President-elect’s agenda.
The world awaits you
My speech to London School of Economics graduates
This is an edited version of a graduation speech given at the London School of Economics in July 2019.
Good afternoon, Graduates of the London School of Economics and Political Science. It is your day, and your careers, and your new lives, which start today.
“I was at the LSE. I graduated from the LSE. I’m an LSE Alumnus.” Those words are like saying “Open Sesame.” For the world lies open to you. You will end up working for the Government of China, for NGOs, for PWC or Goldman Sachs or Google. You will be entrepreneurs, social impact investors, data scientists, academics, prime ministers and presidents…we would be here all day if I kept on going.
The Tale of a Whale
The New York tourist sitting next to me with the map of London spread out on his lap asked where he could find the London Whale.