US Passes on World Bank Joint Statement on Climate Agenda

The U.S., the World Bank's largest shareholder, has declined to endorse what it called the bank's continued drift into climate politics, refusing to sign a new statement by most of the bank's executive directors reaffirming support for its work on alleged manmade climate change, a policy critics said prioritizes ideology over real economic development.

The executive directors for the U.S., Russia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia declined to sign the document; Japan and India — both negotiating trade deals with the U.S. — abstained, a source familiar with the matter said.

The directors, who represent 120 countries, issued the statement after a board meeting with World Bank management, underscoring their expectation that the bank will stick to its climate change action plan goals, including a pledge to devote 45% of its annual financing to climate-related projects.

The document, a copy of which was viewed by Reuters, reflected the deep divide separating most other countries from the U.S. and a handful of allies over climate change. It came days before the start of the annual meetings in Washington, D.C., of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The U.S. is the largest shareholder in both institutions and plays a big role in shaping their work and agendas.

Reuters reported this week that the European Union will double down on its support for reforming global development banks to do more to fight climate change.

In April, at the last IMF-World Bank meetings, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on both institutions to refocus on their core mandates and said they were devoting too much time and resources to topics like climate change.

The leaders of both institutions have gone largely silent on climate change since President Donald Trump began his second term, and the issue is not highlighted in next week's agenda. Trump last month dismissed climate change as a "con job."

The statement also called for aligning the bank's work with the Paris climate accord, from which Trump withdrew shortly after taking office in January. It also called for continuing to factor climate change into its core diagnostic work.

"We reaffirm our support for the World Bank Group's leadership role across the [International Financial Institutions] on climate and nature action, advocating for and supporting countries' demand for low carbon, climate resilient, and nature positive pathways," the statement said.

The directors also called for further work in some areas under the bank's current Climate Change Action Plan, supporting workers as their countries transition away from coal, a shift described as "complex but essential for energy transition."

More work was also needed in helping countries design and implement long-term national climate and development plans and developing effective carbon markets, the letter said.

The statement listed several areas that were being demanded by client countries but are not covered by the bank's current climate change plan, including addressing pollution, mainstreaming nature and scaling adaptation and resilience efforts.