Charles Feinstein
Addressing the Climate Emergency: Economic and Policy Options and Making Polluters Pay
Climate change is the defining challenge of our time, with global consequences affecting the natural environment, basic livelihoods, and nearly every sector of human activity. The interview will briefly review the current scientific understandings that define climate change as a critical threat and summarize where we stand in the enormous task of limiting global greenhouse gas emissions. The discussion will examine the principal economic and policy tools that can be brought to bear to address the problem, emphasizing putting a price on carbon pollution as a key option.
Charles Feinstein
former Director, World Bank Global Energy Practice
Charles Feinstein is an expert in energy, development, and environmental economics, with a career focus on the intersection of these areas. He has specialized knowledge in renewable energy and climate change mitigation. In the 1990s, he served as the World Bank's Team Leader for Climate Change. He retired in 2016 as the Director of the World Bank's Energy and Extractives Global Practice, where he managed a portfolio valued at $7 billion annually, covering energy, mining, and oil and gas investments. He also handled business development and high-level relations in various global regions. He consults for international organizations like the OECD, World Resources Institute, and multiple development banks post-retirement. Trained in electrical engineering and resource economics, Mr. Feinstein is an alumnus of UCLA, the East-West Center in Honolulu, and the Harvard Executive Development Program.