World Bank President David Malpass is fighting accusations of denying climate change by dodging questions about the role of man-made emissions in global warming, which he has since claimed to acknowledge. afp_ticker
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–This content was published on September 23, 2022 – 3:01 pm
September 23, 2022 – 3:01 pm
(AFP)
The president of the World Bank, David Malpass, accused in recent days of being skeptical about climate change, assured in an interview on Friday that he has no intention of leaving his post, once again rejecting the accusations leveled against him.
“I will not resign and I have not thought about it”, replied Malpass, questioned by Politico, adding that “none” of the member states of the international institution had asked for his departure.
The head of the World Bank is being accused of failing to recognize the role of fossil fuels in global warming during a panel discussion hosted on Tuesday by the New York Times.
“We condemn the comments of the president” of the World Bank, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday, although she warned that “his replacement requires the agreement of the majority of the parties”.
When asked at the panel discussion about a statement by former US Vice President Al Gore accusing him of being a climate change denier, Malpass repeatedly refused to say whether he believed man-made emissions were warming the planet.
“I’m not a scientist,” he said.
But under mounting criticism, Malpass clarified his position on Thursday and did so again on Friday.
“It is clear that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are adding up, causing climate change,” he told Politico. “So the task for us, for the world, is to put together the projects and funding that really have an impact.”
In an interview with CNN the day before, Malpass had also acknowledged that climate change came from “man-made sources, including fossil fuels, methane, agricultural uses and industrial uses.”
“I’m not a denier,” he said, adding that his message had been “messy” and that it “didn’t always” convey what he meant well.
Despite their efforts to control the controversy, the foam has not subsided and the Union of Concerned Scientists was the last group to call for the body head to be replaced.
“People living in the global South deserve to see the World Bank led by a staunch environmental advocate, not someone who hasn’t spent enough time with the bank’s vast team of scientists and experts to understand the most basic facts about causes of climate change, “said the group’s president, Johanna Chao Kreilick, in a statement.
“Malpass must be replaced immediately,” he added.
-“I’m worried”-
While Malpass emphasizes the bank’s actions on the environment, the criticisms have grown stronger.
“Right now I’m worried about the World Bank,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz told AFP earlier this week.
On critical issues like climate change, he believes, “unfortunately the World Bank has not taken on the kind of global leadership the world needs now.”
The head of the World Bank is traditionally an American, while the leader of the other major international lender, the IMF, tends to be European.
Malpass is a veteran of the Republican administrations and was appointed in 2019 under the presidency of Donald Trump, known for his denier positions on the reality of climate change.
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