NGOs Pitch in to Achieve High Sustainability Goals

Countries around the world are stepping up efforts to combat
climate change but mountainous challenges loom. That’s according
to the guest on the latest episode of Grid Talk.


Host Marty Rosenberg speaks with David Waskow, director of
International Climate Initiatives at the World Resources
Institute. 


Waskow says non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are shoulder
to shoulder with national governments’ stepped-up engagement.


“We’re both making a lot of progress and have enormous challenges
ahead of us,” said Waskow.


According to Waskow the work is just beginning.


“I think one thing we haven’t taken into account is the depth of
transformation that we need.”


Some countries are making notable progress. 


“The surge in renewables in India is just quite remarkable and
there over 100 gigawatts at the moment I believe, and continuing
to grow rapidly,” he said. 


And he’s talking about massive societal transformations.


“We are moving quickly on EVs but all the evidence is that we’re
not only going to have to do EVs at a massive scale, we’re also
going to have to shift to other modes of transport than passenger
vehicles.”


AS the Director of WRI’s International Climate Initiative Waskow
is focused on international cooperation that catalyzes and
supports action on climate change at the national level in
developed and developing countries Prior to WRI, David directed
climate change policy at the development organization Oxfam
America, where much of his work focused on the impacts of climate
change on vulnerable communities. 


He has graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at
Princeton University; his undergraduate degree is from Brown
University.