Past Event

Thomas Hale on Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time

Thomas Hale will present his book Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time at the World Bank Governance Book Talks

On Wednesday May 7, 2025, the World Bank's Institutions Global Department Book Talks welcomed Thomas Hale and his presentation on his book, Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time.

The Governance Global Practice Book Talks presents recent books by leading global experts. These series include books that are written for a broad audience and cover public policy areas that are relevant for Governance and beyond. 

About the book:

In this pathbreaking book, Thomas Hale examines the politics of climate change and other “long problems.” He shows why we find it hard to act before a problem’s effects are felt, why our future interests carry little weight in current debates, and why our institutions struggle to balance durability and adaptability. With long-term goals in mind, he outlines strategies for tilting the politics and policies of climate change toward better outcomes. Globalization “widened” political problems across national boundaries and changed our understanding of politics and governance. Hale argues that we must make a similar shift to understand the “lengthening” of problems across time. He describes tools and strategies that can, under certain conditions, allow policymakers to anticipate future needs and risks, make interventions that get ahead of problems, shift time horizons, adapt to changing circumstances, and set forward-looking goals that endure. As the climate changes, politics must, too. Efforts to solve long-term problems—not only climate change but other issues as well, including technology governance and demographic shifts—can also be a catalyst for a broader institutional transformation oriented toward the long term. With Long Problems, Hale offers an essential guide to governing across time.

Arturo Herrera Gutierrez

Arturo Herrera Gutierrez

Global Director for Institutions in the Prosperity vertical, World Bank

Mr. Herrera, a Mexican National, has extensive experience in governance, as a practitioner and from the development and academic perspectives. He joined the World Bank in 2010 as Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. He held various positions in the Bank including as Sector Manager in LAC, Practice Manager in Governance Global Practice for the LAC and East Asia and the Pacific regions in the Global Unit before leaving the World Bank Group in 2018. 

Between 2018 and 2021 he has held leadership positions in the Government of Mexico as Co-Head of the Finance Team in Presidential Transition Team, Deputy Finance Minister and, most recently, as Minister of Finance and Public Credit. He was also the Chairman of Mexico’s Exchange Commission and Member of the Board of the Central Bank.

As Global Director for Institutions, country-level governance, especially in fragile, conflict and violent settings; maximizing the effectiveness of operational support for public financial management and public procurement; fostering excellence in the Bank's Prosperity vertical work on public sector administration and operational support for legal and judicial reforms.

Mr. Herrera has also taught Monetary and Banking and Macro and Micro Economics at both El Colegio de Mexico and New York University where he completed his doctoral studies in Economics.

Thomas Hale

Thomas Hale

Professor of Global Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

Thomas Hale is the Professor of Global Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Hale’s research explores how we can manage transnational problems effectively and fairly. He seeks to explain how political institutions evolve – or not – to face the challenges raised by globalisation and interdependence, with a particular emphasis on environmental, economic and health issues. He holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University, a master's degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics, and an AB in public policy from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. A US national, Professor Hale has studied and worked in Argentina, China and Europe. His books include Long ProblemsClimate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time (Princeton 2024), Beyond Gridlock (Polity 2017), Between Interests and Law: The Politics of Transnational Commercial Disputes (Cambridge 2015), Transnational Climate Change Governance (Cambridge 2014), and Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation Is Failing when We Need It Most (Polity 2013). Professor Hale co-leads the Net Zero Tracker and the Climate Policy Hub.

Date: May 07, 2025

Time: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM ET

Location: World Bank Main Complex MC C2-125