Why World Bank head’s resignation is good news for climate crisis fight

theguardian.com:

The resignation of David Malpass, president of the World Bank, was greeted with relief and joy on Wednesday evening by climate experts and campaigners, who said it should open up a new era for financing the global shift to a low-carbon economy.

Malpass, who was appointed to the role by the then US president Donald Trump in 2019, had been facing mounting calls to step down after a series of missteps, including lacklustre plans for green investment, and appearing to deny climate science when confronted by a journalist.

In a statement, Malpass said the World Bank Group, which provides investment and finance to alleviate poverty and build services and infrastructure in developing countries, was “fundamentally strong, financially sustainable, and well-positioned to increase its development impact in the face of urgent global crises” and that he would “pursue new challenges”.

His departure, which will take place on 30 June to give time to find a successor, should herald sweeping reform of the bank and its sister institutions to focus much more on the climate crisis, experts said. Al Gore, former US vice-president, said: “Humankind needs the head of the World Bank to fully recognise and creatively respond to the civilisation-threatening danger posed by the climate crisis. I am very happy to hear that new leadership is coming. This must be the first step towards true reform that places the climate crisis at the centre of the bank’s work.”

Developing countries have grown increasingly frustrated with the paucity of World Bank funds available for their pursuit of clean energy and to help them adapt to the impacts of extreme weather. Donor nations were also grumbling and pushing for reform, impatient with the bank’s slow progress in