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Critical voices on the World Bank and the IMF
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IDA21 policy package disappoints as prospects for IDA countries continue to darken
After difficult negotiations due to American pressure on climate and gender, World Bank governors approve IDA21 document, embedding the Bank’s problematic private sector-led development approach and failing to integrate economic transformation or binding human rights obligations.
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Ghana’s gas debt provides cautionary tale as World Bank reconsiders support for upstream gas projects
After following World Bank energy reform model, government faced with crippling debts and high energy costs.
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Spring Meetings 2025 Wrap-up: Don’t look up! Bank and Fund leadership self-censors on climate change and gender issues, as US tariffs rock global economic outlook
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicates US will stay in the Bank and Fund, claiming “America First does not mean America alone,” as tariffs and rising debt vulnerabilities prompt gloomy forecast.
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Civil society calls for FfD4 to revive ‘spirit of Monterrey’ and reassert UN’s role in global economic governance
The role of Bretton Woods Institutions remains a key point of contention, amidst their stark governance deficits.
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Missing in action: accountability is noticeably absent from the World Bank Group’s new Corporate Scorecard
The Corporate Scorecard’s accountability gap is symptomatic of a broader failure on the part of the WBG to fully internalise, integrate and learn from the work of its accountability mechanisms.
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MIGA’s new guarantee for voluntary carbon markets risks shielding big polluters
CSOs warn MIGA’s proposal at COP29 to de-risk carbon markets for private investors could shield polluters from accountability, leaving local communities to bear the costs.
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New report debunks claims that inadequate MDB transparency results from private sector concerns
Amid underwhelming private capital mobilisation, new report underscores poor state of transparency and disclosure of private sector finance by multilateral development banks and development finance institutions.
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Trump election may add pressure to reverse World Bank’s prohibition on support for nuclear power
Donald Trump’s election may result in a revision of World Bank’s long-standing prohibition of support to nuclear power.
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Annual Meetings 2024 Wrap-up – Don’t look back: BWIs plough down path of reforms lacking evidence and willingness to engage with broader UN-led reform processes
The 2024 World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings, taking place in the context of the institutions’ 80th anniversary, offered little substantive reform despite multiple ongoing organisational processes and reviews.
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New World Bank Corporate Scorecard: overlooking client priorities and ignoring development impact
The World Bank’s new Corporate Scorecard misses the forest for the trees as it lacks an indicator to measure the Bank’s contribution to economic transformation, a cornerstone of its development mandate.
