US pushes for World Bank reforms

The spring meeting also provides an opportunity to make progress on an ambitious US-backed agenda to reform the World Bank so it is better-prepared to tackle long-term issues like climate change.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told AFP in an interview that she expects member states will agree to update the World Bank’s mission statement to include “building resilience against climate change, pandemics, and conflict and fragility,” to its core goals.

Yellen said she also expects an agreement to “significantly” stretch the World Bank’s financial capacity, which “could result in an additional $50 billion in extra lending capacity over the next decade.”

The changes will likely fall to the bank’s next president to implement, with current World Bank president David Malpass due to step down early from a tenure marked by concerns over his position on climate change.