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.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
Finance
Analysis
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.
Rights
News
UN Human Rights Council debt roundtable concludes debt crisis is a human rights crisis
UN Human Rights Council’s Seventh Intersessional Meeting calls for states to use FfD4 to agree reforms that enable states to deliver on their human rights obligations.
Environment
Analysis
COP29 sees MDBs climate finance take centre stage, as civil society brands new climate finance goal a ‘betrayal’
Rich countries agree to provide a paltry $300 billion in public finance by 2035 including funds channelled through MDBs, as Small Island States and Least Developed Countries stage walkout.
Accountability
Analysis
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.
Land
News
World Bank goes full steam ahead on agribusiness, but new CAFOD report highlights gendered harms of Bank's approach
Under President Banga, the World Bank is going full steam ahead on agribusiness financing with a $9 billion annual commitment by 2030, but a CAFOD report highlights harmful gendered impacts of current approach to commercialising farming.
IFI governance
News
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.
IFI governance
Analysis
Development Committee chair’s statement analysis Annual Meetings 2024: compounding crises expose the World Bank’s role in structural failures but limit scope for reform
Despite Development Committee’s call for increased development impact amidst compounding crises, persistent geopolitical fragmentation constrains the critical reforms needed to address structural failures.
Other news
Finance
News
A different ‘evolution roadmap’: Havana conference calls for changes in world order hierarchy
As IMF and World Bank tinker at margins, 50 policymakers, diplomats and academics from over 26 countries issue Havana Declaration calling for an assertion of Southern power and the building of a new "planetary bloc".
Infrastructure
News
New US treasury guidance introduces limits for US support for fossil fuels at World Bank
Civil society voices concern about continued support for fossil gas under the policy.
IFI governance
Background
Greening whole economies? Unpacking World Bank plans for Paris alignment by July 2023
Notes from a Civil Society Policy Forum event on 14 October titled "Greening whole economies? Unpacking World Bank plans for Paris alignment by July 2023."
IFI governance
Background
The World Bank’s Development Policy Financing: implications for a just, green and feminist recovery
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum session on 29 September on the implications and shortcomings of how Development Policy Financing nudges countries towards policy reforms.
Social services
Background
World Bank Group’s ‘Maximizing Finance for Development’ in times of Covid-19
Notes from the virtual Civil Society Policy Forum at the 2020 World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings 5 October session on the World Bank's 'Maximizing Finance for Development' and the Covid-19 response.
Finance
Background
Covid-19 and debt: Going beyond debt suspension towards a systemic response to debt crises
Notes from the virtual Civil Society Policy Forum 28 September Session at the IMF and World Bank 2020 Annual Meetings on Covid-19 and debt.
Accountability
News
Civil society urges US Congress to hold IFC accountable before approving capital increase
CSOs express concerns at congressional hearing about pending IFC capital increase.
Accountability
News
IFC capital increase not a priority for US Congress
US Congress yet to approve World Bank’s proposed capital increase agreed in 2018.