UNITED STATES. Washington: David Malpass, the president of the World Bank, announced on Wednesday that he would step down from his position by the end of June, months after coming under fire from the White House for declining to say if he agreed with the scientific consensus on global warming.
With less than a year left in a five-year tenure, Donald Trump’s appointment of Malpass to lead the multilateral development bank, which provides billions of dollars in funding annually for developing nations, will be terminated. He said, “After a good deal of thought, I’ve decided to pursue new challenges”.
The World Bank’s CEO is traditionally chosen by the US government, while the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) larger partner is often selected by European authorities.
Since more than two years ago, the United Nations, other world leaders, and environmental organizations have been putting pressure on the World Bank’s leadership to change to make room for a new president who would restructure the bank to respond to climate change more forcefully.
Selwin Hart, the special advisor to the UN secretary-general, criticized the World Bank in November 2021 for “fiddling while the developing world burns” and labelled the organization an “ongoing underperformer” on climate action.
The White House didn’t like how Malpass answered a question about whether he agreed with the scientific consensus on climate change. This put more pressure on him in September of last year.
Yellen has recently stepped up her efforts to change how the World Bank works to get more money to fight climate change and other global problems.
After serving as the US Treasury’s chief representative for international affairs under the Trump administration, Malpass became the head of the World Bank in April 2019. According to the World Bank’s annual report, more than $104 billion was committed to projects worldwide in 2022.
The conclusion of the fiscal year in June was a logical time to retire, according to the insider. At the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, which are set for the middle of April, the World Bank governors are likely to approve the bank’s reform programme with a few small changes.
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