Wikipedia

Patrick V. Verkooijen

Patrick V. Verkooijen (born May 21, 1969) is the CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the Chancellor of the University of Nairobi.[1][2][3][4]

Patrick V. Verkooijen
Born (1969-05-21) May 21, 1969 (age 54)
NationalityDutch
Occupation(s)CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation and Chancellor of the University of Nairobi

As CEO of GCA, 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 and co-led by Kristalina Georgieva and Bill Gates.[5][6][7] Prior to this role, he was the World Bank Special Representative for Climate Change.[8]

Verkooijen serves as the Distinguished Chair of The Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi,[9] and as the Ban Ki-moon Chair on Climate Adaptation Governance at the University of Groningen.[10]

Verkooijen is regularly published in global media outlets including The Guardian,[11][12] The New York Times,[13] The Washington Post,[14] Reuters,[15] Newsweek[16] and CNN International,[17] and has appeared on BBC,[18][19] CNBC International[20] and Sky News.[21]

Education edit

Verkooijen holds a PhD from Wageningen University, an MPA from Harvard University, a Master of Science degree in Social and Political Philosophy from the University of Amsterdam, and an environmental engineering degree from HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. He has written academic papers focusing on sustainability and governance.[22]

Career edit

As founding CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), Verkooijen has built a global organization supporting active adaptation projects in over 30 countries. Together with African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, he is the architect of the world's largest adaptation program, the $25 billion Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), which has already shaped over $6 of resilient investments in the world's most climate-vulnerable continent since its inception in 2021.[23] Working with heads of state and government from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, Prof. Verkooijen organized more than half a dozen Summits of world leaders aimed at elevating the cause of climate adaptation, including as co-convenor of the Global Commission on Adaptation.[24][25][26][27]

Prior to the GCA, Verkooijen served as the World Bank Special Representative on Climate Change, and earlier as its head of climate smart agriculture.[28] In these roles he established the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, which is the world’s largest coalition for putting a price on carbon,[29] organized more than ten IMF-World Bank Climate Ministerials for ministers of finance and planning, and set up the $1.6 billion Forest Investment Program, which included the largest indigenous people and local communities grant mechanism in the world at the time, and has since supported the sustainable management of close to 400 million hectares of land across Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2012 and 2018, Prof. Verkooijen was also Professor of Practice of Sustainable Development Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He has also worked as Special Advisor to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan, Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, and as a Senior Advisor at the economic affairs, nature and agriculture ministry of the Netherlands.

In 2022, Verkooijen was awarded a Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa by the University of Nairobi in recognition of his championing of climate resilience for Africa.[30] He was also honored with the Green Deal Prize in the 2022 Financial Afrik awards.[31]

In 2024, Verkooijen was appointed by William Ruto, President of Kenya, as Chancellor of the University of Nairobi.[32]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Bedrijfsinformatie bestellen". kvk.nl. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  2. ^ "About us The Solutions Broker for Adaptation Action". Global Center on Adaptation. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. ^ "President Ruto appoints Professor Patrick Verkooijen as Chancellor of the University of Nairobi | University of Nairobi". www.uonbi.ac.ke. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  4. ^ Nairobi, Patrick Verkooijen Chancellor of the University of (2024-02-15). "Africa's Higher Education Needs More Investment and Entrepreneurship". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  5. ^ "Global Center on Adaptation CEO Verkooijen visits the Ban Ki-moon Centre in Vienna". bankimooncentre.org. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  6. ^ "In today's burning news, UN report says last year was fourth hottest on record". indiatoday.in. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Bill Gates leads global call to accept realities of a warming planet". newscientist.com. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  8. ^ "FNP visiting professor appointed world bank special representative for climate change". wur.nl. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  9. ^ "UoN appoints Prof. Patrick Verkooijen as Distinguished Chair of WMI | University of Nairobi". www.uonbi.ac.ke. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  10. ^ "Patrick Verkooijen appointed Chair of University of Groningen's Climate Adaptation Governance Programme". University of Groningen. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  11. ^ Harvey, Fiona; editor, Fiona Harvey Environment (2023-06-17). "Paris talks to focus on funding poor countries to tackle climate crisis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-19. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Fighting cyclones and coronavirus: how we evacuated millions during a pandemic". The Guardian. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  13. ^ Ruto, William; Mahamat, Moussa Faki; Adesina, Akinwumi; Verkooijen, Patrick (8 October 2023). "If You Want Our Countries to Address Climate Change, First Pause Our Debts". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Opinion: Don't let rising seas drown the Marshall Islands". The Washington Post. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  15. ^ "OPINION: Miami needs allies in its fight to survive climate change". trust.org. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Weather stations underpin effective climate action—We need more of them | Opinion". Newsweek. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  17. ^ "Will we learn lessons for tackling climate change from our current crisis?". edition.cnn.com. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  18. ^ HARDtalk - Patrick Verkooijen – CEO, Global Center on Adaptation, retrieved 2023-07-19
  19. ^ "Priorities for adapting to climate change". BBC. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of Global Center on Adaptation on CNBC on World Water Day". Global Center on Adaptation. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Appearance On Skynews". Skynews. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Dr. Patrick Verkooijen CEO - GLOBAL CENTER ON ADAPTATION". Planetary Security Initiative. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  23. ^ "Biggest Climate Adaptation Plan Lays Out Africa Investment Case". Bloomberg.com. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  24. ^ "Millions pledged at Africa adaptation acceleration event". Africa Renewal. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  25. ^ "COP26 urged to prioritise adaptation as climate emergency surges". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  26. ^ "African presidents and global leaders support bold action on climate change adaptation for Africa". Global Center on Adaptation. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Global leaders support action on climate change for Africa". Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Triple Win of Climate-Smart Agriculture put into Practice". World Bank. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  29. ^ "World Bank, MEPs call for climate-oriented EU budget". www.euractiv.com. 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  30. ^ "UON confers Global Center on Adaptation CEO, Professor Patrick Verkooijen with an Honorary Degree | Department of Earth & Climate Science". earthclimatesciences.uonbi.ac.ke. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  31. ^ Rédaction (2022-12-09). "Les lauréats 2022 des Financial Afrik Awards". Financial Afrik (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  32. ^ "Ruto appoints Patrick V. Verkooijen as UoN Chancellor". Nation. 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
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