Listen to "Phyllis Cuttino calls for Malpass' ouster" on Spreaker.
At the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the calls for the restructuring of multilateral development banks echoed through the halls, with the hopes that with reforms, finance will flow more readily to lower-income countries to allow them to green their economies and help their populations adapt to the changing world.
In the 14th episode of the COPcast, Devex sat down with Phyllis Cuttino, the new president and CEO of the Climate Reality Project, during the first week of the conference. She emphasized one reform in particular: A switchup in leadership at the World Bank.
"Davis Malpass ... has a past where he has denied climate science and I think that makes him unsuitable to lead the World Bank at this time," she said, adding that the bank also needs to commit to only financing fossil fuel projects in the "most extraordinary of circumstances."
In addition to multilateral development bank reform, she called for greater ambitions from countries and the private sector on emissions reductions and the allocation of increased financing toward resilience building in lower-income countries.
"As activists we really need to make sure that we're pushing hard across every sector of society to make the changes we need," she said.
About the authors
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
Naomi Mihara
Naomi Mihara is an Associate Editor for Devex, working on creative and audiovisual projects. She has a background in journalism and international development, having previously served as an assistant correspondent for Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun and as a communications officer for the International Organization for Migration in Southeast Asia. She holds a master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University.