Paola Ridolfi is currently the Climate Adviser in the World Bank’s Climate Change Group. In her role, she is responsible for a broad range of climate finance priorities and strategic partnerships and she ius responsible for the Climate Conference of the Parties (COP) for the World Bank. Prior to her current position, Paola was the Manager and Interim Director of Policy, Partnerships and Operations at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) where she led change management and engagement with countries counterparts and stakeholders throughout the 8th GEF Replenishment. In her twenty-five year career, Paola has led strategic engagement with several countries in different regions, including in the Maghreb during the Arab Springs and in Mali and the Sahel countries as World Bank Interim Country Director. Paola holds advanced degrees from the University of Bologna and Johns Hopkins University; she speaks Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese