Tony Annett, Ph.D.
Climate Change and Sustainable Development Advisor
Earth Institute, Columbia University
Tony Annett is a climate change and sustainable development advisor at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. Working closely with Religions for Peace, he leads the Earth Institute's initiative to strengthen the engagement of the world's religious communities in the climate change and sustainable development agenda. An economist by training, his work centers on the intersection of ethics, religion and sustainable development. He is also a specialist in Catholic social teaching. In that capacity, he works with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, especially in the context of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si.
Dr. Annett spent 16 years at the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C., with stints in the European, Fiscal Affairs and Communications departments. In this role, he worked as an economist in a variety of countries and regions – including Bulgaria, Ghana, Euro Area, Iceland, Jordan, Poland, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Uganda and the United Kingdom. Most recently, he worked for five years as speechwriter to two successive managing directors, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Christine Lagarde.
He received his bachelor of arts degree (First Class Honors, Gold Medal) from Trinity College in Dublin in 1991, his master of literature degree from Trinity College in Dublin in 1993, and his doctorate degree in economics from Columbia University in 1998. He is also a Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a papal order of chivalry.