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Ian Johnson

Johnson, Ian

Johnson, Ian

Fellow, WAAS; Secretary General, Club of Rome; Former Vice President, The World Bank; Email - ijohnson@clubofrome.org

Job Title

Fellow, WAAS; Secretary General, Club of Rome; Former Vice President, The World Bank; Email - ijohnson@clubofrome.org

A British national, Dr. Johnson has experience in the areas of sustainable development, energy and economic policy. He joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 1980 and was soon afterwards promoted as Senior Economist of the Europe, Middle East and North Africa Power and Energy Division. He later held the position of Principal Sector Economist in the Policy, Research, and External Affairs Department. In 1991, he was appointed as Administrator of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and later became its Assistant Chief Executive Officer. In 1997 he was appointed senior manager of the Environment Department and in 1998 he was promoted to Vice President with responsibilities for Sustainable Development, environment, agriculture and social policy. He was also appointed as Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Prior to joining the World Bank he worked with UNICEF and spent five years in Bangladesh. He left the World Bank in 2006 and has since then undertaken a number of advisory positions in the public and private sector. He is Chairman of a carbon market research company based in the UK; is senior advisor to GLOBE International and Chairman of its Land Use and Ecological Services Commisssion; was a member of the Swedish Commission on Climate Change and Development; and has acted as an advisor to the UK government, the UNFCCC and IFAD and a number of consulting companies. Mr. Johnson is an economist and has studied at the universities of Wales, Sussex and Harvard.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

Can we Finance the Energy Transition?*   ( Economy & Ecology ), ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The energy sector is pivotal to our aspirations for a sustainable planet and yet two major challenges face policymakers worldwide. The first is to decide what set of technical choices provide the best solution to meet social, economic and environmental agendas; and the second is to decide how these choices can be financed. The bulk of new energy demand will come from the emerging economies where energy demand is expected to increase by 40% over the coming...
Crises and Opportunities: A Manifesto for Change   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Piecemeal fragmented strategies cannot address the pressing challenges facing humanity today. Economic theory has to be radically reinvented to squarely face the reality of rising unemployment, widening inequalities, growing ecological threats, frustrated social aspirations and unmet human needs. Monetary and fiscal policies are too crude and insufficient to steer the essential change of course required to address multidimensional demographic, ecological, economic...
The World in 2052   ( Economic Theory ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Humanity has made immense progress over the last few decades. The starting point for setting a future's agenda can be anchored in a healthier, better educated, more prosperous, and better informed and connected world than ever. Humanity finds itself at an evolutionary crossroad. The choice is between a perfect storm of progressively deepening crises and expanding perspectives of unprecedented opportunities. Viewed from the perspective of the past, the current crises...
The Perfect Storm: Economics, Finance and Socio-Ecology   ( Economy & Ecology ), ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics ), ( Sustainable Development )
Get Full Text in PDF A Commentary* The world is at an inflection point. A convergence of themes – seemingly disconnected – is integral and urgent to our very survival. Our world is headed into a Perfect Storm of an interconnected financial, ecological and social crisis. Almost all forward-looking assessments demonstrate that business as usual and incremental improvements will not be sufficient to take us to a future world blessed by equitable prosperity, safety, security and contentment. And...