The author is an assistant professor at the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa.
World Bank President David Malpass announced his intention to step down from his post last Wednesday, months after questionable comments about the causes and existence of the climate crisis. He will leave the seat vacant next June, a little less than a year before the end of his mandate.
At an event organized by the New York Times last September, environmentalist Al Gore called for Malpass’s dismissal, calling him a climate denier (climate denier). The former American vice-president of the government of Bill Clinton had been very hard on Malpass. He was then hounded with questions about the existence of the climate crisis and the fact that it is man-made.
The chairman of the session asked him in particular if “the combustion of fossil fuels by man […] [entraînait] rapid and dangerous global warming”. After dodging the question several times, the 66-year-old finally replied, “I don’t even know…I’m not a scientist! These remarks, said in parallel with the 77e United Nations General Assembly, have created a lot of turmoil. What followed was a gigantic exercise in public communication to get off the feet of the president of the dish’s largest multilateral development institution.
The ire of environmentalists
The President of the World Bank had in the same breath questioned the impact on climate change of Al Gore, who according to him “calls himself an environmentalist”, but whose actions pale in comparison to the “projects of ‘impact’ of the World Bank in the environment. A program manager from the environmental group E3G called Malpass’s comments “a step too far”. In an open letter in September, several groups of activists called for his resignation. With good reason, they mentioned that it is not necessary “to be a scientist” to understand the basics of climate change.
Already, in November 2021, the UN’s special envoy for climate change, Selwin Hart, had accused the Bank of doing nothing while “the developing world burns” and claimed that the organization was “underperforming”. on climate action.
Without giving specific reasons for his departure in his resignation letter, Malpass says he is proud of the work accomplished since his election in 2019, in particular for having supported “inclusive and sustainable development” and for having “doubled” the budget for the climate, which reaches almost 32 billion in 2022. Although it is difficult to verify the accuracy of its statements, it is true that the Bank has tried to change its tune in the last decade, after being repeatedly accused to support projects for the relocation of Aboriginal communities for the establishment of energy projects (hydroelectric or other), to finance mining and natural gas projects as well as various projects that are harmful to the environment.
It should be noted that Malpass has always been in the crosshairs of the most progressive and globalist fringes of international civil society. In addition to having been appointed by former US President Donald Trump (far from being the greatest champion in the fight against climate change), Malpass is a notorious anti-multilateralist and a great defender of an economic vision on the Wall Street (having himself been chief economist at the investment bank Bear Stearns, which participated in the 2008 crisis with JP Morgan). He has always criticized international organizations like the World Bank, according to him “corrupt” and “not very effective”.
Finally a process change?
Malpass’s resignation raises hopes for a change in the process of electing the World Bank presidency. While European countries historically choose the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States has control over the nomination process for the presidency of its sister institution of Bretton Woods. There have never been leaders from a southern country or women at the head of the institution.
The prospective candidates, all Americans or with dual citizenship, include Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organization since 2021, Raj Shah, of the Rockefeller Foundation, and Samantha Power, of the Agency international development organization USAID.
The hasty departure of Malpass could be good news for a renewal of the institution, especially since it is in the process of carrying out a reform of its operation. According to internal documents, the Bank’s mission should now focus on “global public goods”, such as climate change and pandemic preparedness. Not easy to implement when the president of the institution believes neither in international institutions nor in the climate crisis.