Options Winter 2020: Arame Tall was a participant of the 2010 IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP). She is currently supporting the implementation of the World Bank’s Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience.

woman smiling © Grant Ellis

Arame Tall is one of the world experts on climate services, adaptation, resilience, and community-based responses with over 15 years’ experience at the interface of climate and society. She was a participant of the 2010 Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) and joined the World Bank in 2017 as a Senior Adaptation and Resilience Specialist in the Climate Change Group. "In the few months of the YSSP, I learned the need for a very rigorous scientific design that I have used ever since.

My supervisor, Anthony Patt, also taught me to break personal boundaries,” mentions Tall. Her experiences led her to travel to some of the world’s sites most vulnerable to climate change, and to work with various stakeholders on preventative measures to face head-on the worsening impacts of climate change.

While at CGIAR, she bridged the gap between research and climate information, reaching millions of farmers in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Tall says that this gave her a unique perspective as she worked directly with the people bearing the brunt of climate change impacts. While working at the Red Cross, Tall helped local communities anticipate climate related disasters such as cyclones, flooding, and rising sea levels in West and Central Africa, and at the World Meteorological Organization, she advised governments and ministers in Africa on policy insights to better mainstream climate risk management into development planning. When Tall joined the World Bank, she led the first Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience, a comprehensive framework for action to scale up the World Bank Group’s support to countries and on-the-ground impact in adaptation. She is now supporting the implementation of this strategy.

“I’m very proud to have led this team,” says Tall. The plan was launched in January 2019 by then CEO Kristalina Georgieva, and is now used by the entire organization to incentivize integration of climate risk management across all projects, screening for climate impacts, and preventative measures.

By Monika Bauer

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