The United States has marched into the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 27, as the face of a movement to reform the multilateral development banks, with a senior U.S. Department of Treasury official telling Devex that the pressure is on for lenders to unlock billions of dollars for countries in need, particularly for climate finance.
A landmark speech by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last month demanding that the World Bank produce a road map for reform by year end was not some fleeting remark, but a major U.S. policy priority on the international stage, Alexia Latortue, assistant secretary at the U.S. Treasury, said in an interview.
“The message was unequivocally clear that this is not a passing speech from the U.S., it was not passing commentary from some shareholders,” Latortue told Devex.