Why climate activists want Biden to fire David Malpass from the World Bank : NPR
Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images
Climate activists are calling on President Biden to take steps to fire David Malpass, the head of the World Bank, after he publicly stammered about whether he believed gas emissions. Greenhouses from human activities are causing climate change or not. . “
Malpass made the comments after the former vice president and climate activist noted Al Gore called him a “climate denier” at a New York Times events on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week.
🌎🔥 Today I asked the president of the World Bank @DavidMalpassWBG if he believes in the scientific consensus that man burning fossil fuels is warming the planet rapidly and dangerously.
“I am not a scientist,” he said.
This is a remarkable conversation topic. 1 / pic.twitter.com/t0nQheybzi
– David Gelles (@dgelles) September 20, 2022
Malpass later tried to delete his comments, saying Politico on Friday that it was a “poorly chosen line.” Malpass defended the bank’s investments and said he would not resign.
That did not silence calls to remove him.
“We need climate leaders in the World Bank, we need leaders,” said Thanu Yakupitiyage, a spokesman for 350.org, a fossil fuel-based climate advocacy group. climate leadership in the Federal Reserve. .
“If he is not someone who is really pushing and pressuring the World Bank in a new direction that really works on climate initiatives, then he has to go,” says Yakupitiyage.
It is unbelievable that at this last moment the American running the World Bank is a climate denier.
Biden better find a sentient person for the post.
The current. https://t.co/2iDStshbx5
– Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) September 21, 2022
Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for the Concordia Summit
The White House is making the public unhappy
The climate controversy in Malpass quickly reached the ears of the highest-ranking White House officials, who are in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly. A senior administration official told reporters it was “obviously raised eyebrows.”
On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was directly critical of Malpass and the bank – and would not say whether President Biden would retain faith in Malpass’s leadership.
“We disagree with President Malpass’s comments,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We expect the World Bank to be a global leader in climate ambition and to mobilize significantly more climate finance for developing countries, noting that the Treasury Department “has been and will continue to make that clear.”
The United States plays a key role in nominating the president. But other countries that are shareholders of the bank will have a say in any change in leadership, Jean-Pierre said.
“His removal requires a majority of shareholders – so that’s something to keep in mind,” she told reporters.
Alex Wong / Getty Images
This is not the first time Malpass has been shot
Malpass nominated for a 5-year term at the bank in 2019 of former President Donald Trump. The World Bank’s board of directors generally approves the nomination of the United States, as the bank’s largest shareholder.
He has long been criticized by climate and environmental advocates for the bank’s continued funding of fossil fuel projects around the world. They argue that more needs to be done to switch to cleaner energy sources.
Scott Morris, co-director of sustainability finance at the Center for Global Development, comments Malpass’s latest – but he says there’s a deeper false line between banks and climate activists .
“Climate advocates are increasingly frustrated that this truly central organization is not delivering the kind of climate ambition they think is necessary,” Morris said, explaining that Malpass did not push to lead the bank in that direction.
“You compare him to where the climate community thinks the bank needs to go and it’s simply not ambitious enough,” Morris said. “He’s clearly not trying to push the bank further in the right direction and shows no particular ambition on climate beyond the basic level of support the bank is providing right now.”
Lisa Frank, executive director of the Washington Legislative Office on the US Environment, said it was good that Malpass finally acknowledged that his remarks were flawed. But she says actions speak louder than words. “Investing in fossil fuel projects does not align with what we need to do to tackle global warming,” says Frank.
World Bank President David Malpass said he was not considering resigning after facing criticism for dodging repeated questions about climate change science. (He later responded to his answer.)
“When asked, ‘Are you a climate protester?’ I should have said no,” he said @PoliticoRyan. pic.twitter.com/ETOzME1Ntx
– POLITICO (@politico) September 23, 2022
Malpass admits he can do better than the question
Earlier this month, the World Bank offered spend $31.7 billion in fiscal year 2022 to help countries tackle climate change and has called itself “the world’s largest financier of climate action in developing countries. ” Project scope from the expansion of the solar industry in India, to bio-incubation programs across sub-Saharan Africa, to increasing access to affordable electricity in Nigeria.
Malpass defended the bank’s record on climate, saying it had done “effective leadership” and was using climate science to find the investments with the biggest impact. He said he was caught off guard by the question of his climate change beliefs.
“When asked ‘Are you a climate protester?’ I should have said “No,” Malpass said. “Nobody said that other than Al Gore, and it’s quite off topic,” he said at Politico incident.
“It is clear that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are causing climate change, so it is our task – to the world – to bring together real projects and funding,” he said. impact”.