Eric Matheny đ
@EricMMatheny
·
2h
Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are no better than Pelosi and Schumer. There is no benefit (and frankly no difference) with a Republican majority when those two are leading the party in Congress.
Embattled World Bank head Malpass says he should have made it clear that heâs not âa climate-change denierâ
Embattled World Bank President David Malpass used a fresh interview on Friday to try to clarify remarks â specifically, lack of a concrete statement from earlier in the week â that left critics labeling the Trump nominee a climate-change denier.
Malpass told Politico there is âforceful leadershipâ at the World Bank on climate, adding, âwhen I was asked if I am a climate change denier, I should have said no.â
At a New York Times climate-change event Tuesday, Malpass angered fellow global leaders. When asked then, more than once, whether the burning of fossil fuels has led to global warming, he declined to directly answer, saying, âI am not a scientist.â
âIâm not a denier,â Malpass told CNN International Thursday.
âItâs clear that greenhouse gas emissions are coming from manmade sources, including fossil fuels, methane, the agricultural uses, the industrial uses, so weâre working hard to change that,â he told the outlet.
The World Bank has been generally critized by environmental groups and select officials for not setting a firm cutoff date to withdraw or cease funding used toward fossil-fuel development in the countries the lender backs.
Industry watchdog and data tracker, the International Energy Agency, has itself called for no new investment in traditional fossil fuels and says that to reach net zero emissions by 2050, annual clean energy investment worldwide will need to more than triple by 2030 to around $4 trillion.
John Kerry, the U..S. special presidential envoy for climate, signaled Tuesday that the Biden administration is working behind the scenes to remove Malpass. Kerryâs comments came hours after Al Gore, the former U.S. vice president and longtime climate activist, called Malpass âa climate denierâ and called on Biden âto get rid ofâ him and âput new leadership inâ at the worldâs largest development bank.
The president of the United States, the largest World Bank shareholder, traditionally nominates World Bank presidents, subject to confirmation by the bankâs board. Former president Donald Trump, himself a periodic climate-change denier during his term and candidacies, nominated Malpass to a five-year term in 2019.
Asked to comment about Malpass on Friday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said, âwe disagree with the comments made by President Malpass.
âWe expect the World Bank to be a global leader of climate ambition and mobilization, as well of significantly more climate finance for developing countries, as is the business of the World Bank. The Treasury Department, which oversees our engagement with international financial institutions, has and will continue to make that expectation clear to the World Bank leadership,â she said.
I’m losing hope for Western civilization.
I agree, and, have been saying same, for YEARS, Eric Matheny.