World Bank President David Malpass emphasizes that he believes climate change is man-made. The chief executive of the financier for development cooperation came under fire for statements about the environment.
At an event hosted by The New York Times on Tuesday, Malpass dodged whether he believes “burning fossil fuels is heating the planet dangerously fast.” Finally he said “I don’t know, I’m not a scientist”.
He tried to rectify this in a message to World Bank staff. He stated that the “rapid increase in the use of coal, diesel and bunker oil in advanced economies and developing countries is triggering a new wave of the climate crisis.”
In an interview with news channel CNN, Malpass again emphasized that he is not a climate skeptic. “It’s clear that greenhouse gases come from man-made sources, including fossil fuels, methane, agriculture and industry, so we’re working hard to change that.”
Malpass has been under fire for some time
Climate activists have criticized Malpass for some time. Former Vice President Al Gore called on current US President Joe Biden to replace Malpass. As the largest shareholder in the World Bank, the United States has a decisive vote in the appointment of the chief executive. Malpass took office during the reign of Donald Trump, who is regularly skeptical about climate change.
The World Bank has also been criticized for doing too little to combat global warming. The organization reduced its investments in coal-fired power stations in 2013 and stated that in 2019 it would no longer make money available for the search for and exploitation of oil and gas fields. Yet the World Bank refuses to phase out all financing to the fossil fuel industry.
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