A new Bank report warns about the impacts of climate change, but concerns have been raised about its own track record. While the Bank has increased its renewable energy share, its continued funding of fossil fuels and focus on large scale dams remain controversial.
The World Bank finally launched the two-year review of its environmental and social safeguard policies in October.
This session discussed the conclusions reached on the global governance role of civil society by the Civil Society and Accountable Global Governance project.
The World Bank's investment lending (ILs) have been joined in recent years by new lending instruments, whilst IL itself faces an overhaul, as the Bank's operational policies come under review and pilots for the use of 'country systems' mature. The Bank is presently using four lending instruments: investment lending, development policy lending (DPL), Program-for-Results, and the World Bank guarantee program.
The World Bank's new president Jim Yong Kim set out his vision for the institution at the Bank's annual meetings in mid October, but his desire to build a 'solutions' bank and end absolute poverty comes with few details or big changes at the Bank. Next year's replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) will put Kim's vision to the test.
Coverage of the communiqu
The current surge of capital flows to emerging markets continues to challenge the IMF’s historical position regarding capital account regulation and exchange rate policies, with the Fund’s policy framework being criticised by academics and emerging markets.
A recent report by the Australian NGO RESULTS International criticises the Bank for its lack of consideration of gender and disability in its education projects.
The notion that public investments should be used to 'leverage' additional investments from private actors is increasingly used in a variety of development finance forums, including aid, development finance, agriculture and, in particular, climate finance. The World Bank has become one of the leading proponents of this concept, though nowhere has it spelled out clearly what it means by 'leverage' or how it should be measured.
Minutes meeting, Washington DC, 18 April 2012
Analysis of the 2012 World Bank and IMF spring meetings and related events, including the selection of new World Bank president Jim Yong Kim.
Minutes of IFC and extractives meeting, Washington DC, 21 April 2012
New briefing by ActionAid USA and the Bretton Woods Project highlights research showing that IMF policy advice has undermined a just energy transition since the Paris Agreement was signed.
