Vera Songwe

Biography

Dr Songwe was a senior advisor to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) where her work focused on credit risk cycles and regulatory and supervisory measures to manage this. She also worked on treatment of climate and nature in the Basel III framework. She currently co- chairs the G20 Expert Group on climate, finance and debt (TF Clima) She is a also a visiting senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Dr Songwe is a global climate champion. She is the Co-Chair of the Independent High Level Expert Panel on Climate Finance alongside Lord Nick Stern. Under the last three COP presidencies they have worked to build the climate investment narrative as the growth story of the 21st century. Dr Songwe is an IDA champion working with countries, MDBs, their shareholders, and the private sector to provide liquidity to countries that need a bridge to green growth. She is the former United Nations Under-Secretary General and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the first woman to lead the organization in 60 years.