Melanie Robinson joined WRI as its new Global Climate, Economics and Finance Program Director in September 2023. In this role, Melanie is leading WRI's work, at the global level and across 12 priority countries and regions, to drive up ambition, enable country and corporate transitions and shift economic and financial systems to deliver people, nature and climate goals. Melanie has 25 years of experience working in international development and climate finance. Most recently, she served as the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe and represented the U.K.’s 160 Ambassadors on the Management Board of the U.K. Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Melanie previously served as the U.K. Executive Director to the World Bank Group. Prior to that, she was the Development Director of the U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID) in Ethiopia, where she led DFID’s largest aid program spanning climate change, economic development, health, education, security, governance and humanitarian issues. In this position, she was involved in the creation of one of Africa’s first national climate strategies and funds. In earlier roles, Melanie led the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change’s teams responsible for negotiating in the United Nations and European Union on international climate policies including finance, adaptation, forestry and low-carbon technology and created DFID’s first climate adaptation team and strategy. Over her career, Robinson also worked for DFID in Mozambique and conducted grassroots work in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Nepal.