A banker’s vision of a habitable planet

Ajay BangaThe 14th president of the World Bank recently held a hearing at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. The former MasterCard CEO, who became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate fund in 2021, painted a picture of a world at a crossroads – grappling with climate changerefugee crises and the promise (and danger) of artificial intelligence.
Banga took the helm of the World Bank last year, he said. “We are the Knowledge Bank”, changing the Bank’s position from a “money bank” to a respected institution focused on solving many problems.
Regarding the climate, Banga was cautiously optimistic. He pointed at Paris Agreement as a turning point not only for governments but also for public awareness. “This topic wasn’t even discussed 5-8 years ago,” he noted. Rapid progress in renewable energy particularly caught his eye. “Currently, it takes one day to install a gigawatt of solar power. A few years ago it took 100 days,” Banga said.
But that’s not all the sun shines on. Banga emphasized the issue of justice in climate policy. Developing countries, he explained, often feel asked to give up the fossil fuels that have fueled Western growth. Similarly, there are issues with carbon credits. “It’s an ecological mistake, no certificates, no register” – all this needs to be fixed.
Bang’s solution is to “think big but act small.” “Let’s tackle electricity, but also construction, carbon capture and more,” he said. “Think about bite-sized pieces where you can make a difference.”
When Kat Hu, a student at Stanford Graduate School of Business, asked about the World Bank’s role in: Artificial intelligence managementBanga admitted that they are just getting started. However, he noted the “AI gap” between developed and emerging markets. “People think AI is the answer to their future in emerging markets,” he said, “but most don’t have the four things that AI requires: computation, electricity, lots of data and people who know how to manage that data . ”
Saleh Dadkhahipour, a student at Stanford GSB, said: “Using his experience in agriculture in Iran, he reaffirms the importance of cooperatives in bringing discipline to countries’ climate policies.”
Throughout the conversation, Banga returned to a central theme: the need for the World Bank to focus on results, not just contributions. “I want to get to the result,” he insisted. “What matters is not how many girls went to school, but how many girls had a better life in the future.”
Under Bangui’s leadership, the World Bank aims to be more than just a source of funds. I want to be a catalyst for real, measurable changes. Time will tell whether he will be able to make this transformation. But one thing is certain: with Ajay Banga at the helm at the World Bank, it will not be business as usual.