Environment

News

World Bank manoeuvres to influence climate finance debates

21 November 2011

As the next round of global climate negotiations approaches, the World Bank advocates the use of private sector finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation, and pushes multilateral development banks as delivery mechanisms.

Environment

Commentary

Nepal climate loans: an injustice

The Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR), part of the World Bank-housed Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), intends to provide frameworks for integrating climate resilience in national development planning of climate vulnerable countries. The Bank acts as trustee, secretariat and one of the implementing agencies of the CIFs. The PPCR offers recipient countries a mix of grants and loans for climate adaptation projects.

18 November 2011 | Guest comment

Accountability

News

IMF plays "second fiddle" as governments fall in the eurozone

As the eurozone debt crisis escalates and protests multiply, the IMF increasingly appears side-lined. Italy's calling in of the Fund for "verification" of implementation of its EU-agreed austerity package symbolises the limits of its influence and resources.

18 November 2011

Rights

News

IFIs admit failure to put jobs at the centre

While the International Labour Organization (ILO) warns of social unrest coming from record unemployment, the IMF and World Bank are being criticised for hindering workers rights and not putting jobs at the centre of recovery.

21 November 2011

Social services

News

IMF's focus on austerity proved "wrong, wrong, wrong", say critics

While Christine Lagarde and staff at the Fund begin to acknowledge that too much austerity is risking jobs and growth and civil society groups call for an end to IFIs policy conditions, IMF programmes continue to promote fiscal retrenchment.

21 November 2011

Social services

News

Despite evidence, World Bank still promoting water privatisation

Bank-funded private water projects across the world are facing serious problems due to financial, socio-political and operational concerns, but recent trends show that more such projects are coming up in the name of innovative approaches.

21 November 2011

Environment

News

Beyond repair? Bank lobbies for carbon markets

As the UN climate summit in South Africa looms large, the World Bank is lobbying G20 countries to resuscitate shrinking carbon markets through controversial new measures, including using public climate finance to stimulate demand and integrating soil and forest carbon into market mechanisms.

21 November 2011

Knowledge

News

Little currency for global money?

While the G20 postponed decisions on issuing new special drawing rights (SDRs), the IMF-managed international reserve asset, the IMF completed its surveillance review and a new Fund report tackled the thorny issue of global imbalances.

18 November 2011

IFI governance

Background

Country classifications

A state's relationship with the IFIs and the type of assistance it receives is determined by its country classification. Some crucial types of classifications are: the World Bank's operational lending categories; the Bank's analytical categories used in the World Development Report; the IMF's operational and analytical categories, the IFC's frontier market category; the Bank's fragile state category; and the distinctions used by the Bank and IMF in deciding on and reporting success in governance

18 November 2011 | Inside the institutions

Land

News

IFC accused of standards breach over Ugandan land grab

A September report by NGO Oxfam International includes criticism of forestry operations in Uganda in which the World Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has a stake.

18 November 2011

Infrastructure

News

New reports question World Bank's coal investments

As the November Durban climate talks approach, the World Bank continues to be overshadowed by past and prospective loans for fossil-fuel power plants.

18 November 2011

Knowledge

News

World Bank's gender WDR: too little, too late?

The World Bank's flagship annual publication pushes gender equality up to the Bank's agenda, but critics express concern about its implementation and unwillingness to consider gender as a women's rights issue.

18 November 2011