World Bank Group

Accountability

News

Civil society and communities achieve victory as World Bank cancels tourism project in Tanzania

World Bank confirms cancellation of controversial tourism project in Tanzania, after over 2 years of civil society campaigning.

15 April 2025

Rights

News

Communities demand justice as IFC fails to address coal financing fallout

IFC faces backlash for failing to address social and environmental harms from its financing of coal plants in the Philippines, despite proven health and environmental violations.

15 April 2025
Palace of Nations - UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: Trabantos/ Shutterstock

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.

15 April 2025

Knowledge

Background

Bretton Woods Project Annual Report 2024

In 2024 BWP continued to support global civil society in pushing for transformative change, advocating for a multilateral system that is democratic, inclusive, transparent, accountable and responsive to people, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.

25 February 2025 | Annual report (BWP)

Finance

News

FfD4 is a feminist issue

FfD4 civil society feminist workstream calls for gender and race equality, human rights and systemic change in the international financial architecture, while groups plan strategic convening in Morocco.

15 April 2025

Knowledge

Background

Recommended resources on the World Bank and the IMF 2024

BWP's collection of recommended reports, briefings, CSO letters and other resources published on the World Bank and the IMF in the past year .

12 February 2025
illustration of the Bretton Woods Observer winter 2024, presenting the World Bank globe sitting on a hidden pile of gold looking at the Wall Street Bull (which represents the financial sector)

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.

12 December 2024
Said Iqbal, President of the Confederation of Indonesian Labor Union, on a press conference celebrating the International Labor Day, 1 May 2023, Jakarta, Indonesia. Credit: Almarams/Shutterstock

Private Sector

Commentary

The B-Ready index: the World Bank’s bluewashing of labour rights

World Bank’s new Business-Ready (B-Ready) index offers new measures but reductionist approach, ultimately rewarding countries driving down labour rights in favour of business.

12 December 2024 | Guest comment
The World Bank's interactive new Corporate Scorecard on display at the 2024 World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington DC. Credit: Paul Blake/ World Bank.

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.

12 December 2024 | At Issue

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.

12 December 2024
Protest against carbon markets at UN Climate Change Conference Baku on 14th November 2024. Credit: IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis.

Environment

News

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.

12 December 2024

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.

12 December 2024