A top World Bank official defends the institution’s climate finance record, saying, “I challenge anybody to show who has actually done more in climate financing.”
Today we’re also digging into Ukraine’s civil society fight to document war crimes, and sharing USAID contractor DT Global’s response to allegations its leaders misused a nonprofit affiliate.
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The World Bank has faced criticism at times from climate change advocates who charge that the institution isn’t moving fast enough to mobilize financing for lower-income countries and support their transition to low-carbon economies.
Axel van Trotsenburg, the bank’s managing director for operations, isn’t buying it.
“I challenge anybody to show who has actually done more in climate financing. People are talking and millions are being heard, but I haven't seen the billions being committed,” he tells my colleague Shabtai Gold during the Spring Meetings.
Since COP 26, the bank has mobilized about $15 billion in climate finance, the bank official says. For 2022, the bank is targeting $26 billion.
Shabtai tracked down van Trotsenburg in the midst of a hectic week — with 60 or so meetings on his schedule. He noted that about half of those meetings are country-specific, which speaks to the urgent need in many lower-income countries that are currently struggling to weather overlapping crises.
“We are trying to do what is, in my mind, a dual task. We do crisis support. But we also are very mindful of the really hard-core development agenda that needs to be supported,” he says.
Meanwhile, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters Wednesday that Ukraine will need $5 billion a month just to keep the economy functioning. That sum is based on an estimate by the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance and does not include the funds that will be needed for reconstruction.
“Our immediate hope must be for the war to end…. That would have the single most positive effect on the global recovery right now,” she added.
On Wednesday, several leaders, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, walked out of a G-20 meeting when the Russian representative began to speak.
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the G-20 meeting was still able to reach agreement on issues including a commitment to support vulnerable countries and a new financial mechanism for pandemic preparedness financing gaps to be housed at the World Bank.
On Thursday, the World Bank is hosting a ministerial meeting with IMF on Ukraine.
Spring Meetings: ‘Solidarity’ is key to facing multiple crises, World Bank official says (Pro)
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Elephant in the room
Among those calling on multilateral development banks to do more on climate change is U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
“The multilateral development banks writ large, all of them ... need to come together, and the legislatures of the countries that are members of the charters and on the boards of all of these institutions need to step up,” Kerry said Wednesday.
Some of the criticism from those who think MDBs aren’t doing enough have fallen on World Bank President David Malpass, a former Trump administration official, creating some chatter about whether the Biden administration might seek to replace him. On Wednesday, journalist Judy Woodruff put that question directly to Kerry.
“I’m not aware of any move in that regard,” Kerry said, adding that he hadn’t received “any indication” that such an action was being discussed.
Climate finance: John Kerry calls on MDBs to step up
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Truth and consequence
“[Witnesses] told us about shelling in kindergarten, hospitals, schools, objects of critical infrastructure, their house, their flat … this is the main widespread testimonies now.”
— Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Kyiv-based Center for Civil LibertiesAs reports of Russian atrocities in Ukraine continue to provoke outrage, Ukrainian civil society groups are collecting the grim details that will be required to prosecute war crimes sometime in the future. Will Worley reports that the time and labor-intensive effort involve both specialists and regular citizens who have been trained to look for specific pieces of evidence and information that can substantiate potential cases in the International Criminal Court.
One of the key networks is Euromaidan SOS, a decentralized initiative first launched during Ukraine’s Maidan revolution of 2013-2014 to provide legal assistance to protestors and monitor abuses of the security forces of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
Read: How Ukrainian civil society is documenting alleged Russian war crimes
+ Catch up on all our coverage of the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine
For the record
DT Global responded Wednesday to allegations made by the Washington, D.C. attorney general and a former board member — and first reported by Devex — that the organization misused its nonprofit affiliate in a scheme to benefit the for-profit business.
“DT Global denies the allegations in the lawsuit by the Attorney General of the District of Columbia intervening in a suit brought by James [Prince] against DT Institute. The allegations that DT Institute has violated nonprofit and charitable law to enrich DT Global are without merit,” the statement reads.
“DT Global will cooperate fully with the District of Columbia’s Attorney General’s investigation.”
ICYMI: USAID contractor accused of misusing its nonprofit affiliate
In other news
Six people struck by a fast-moving vehicle died Wednesday when more than 500 Rohingya refugees fled a temporary detention center in northern Malaysia. [Al Jazeera]
U.N. chief António Guterres has written to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine to request meetings with the leaders in their respective countries. [UN News]
The U.N. Environment Programme has named English naturalist and presenter David Attenborough as a Champion of the Earth. [BBC]
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
