Ajay Banga, the Biden-appointed president of the World Bank, promised to “push” the financial institution to its limits to combat climate change in an interview with Reuters late Tuesday.
While Banga said he would not take any actions that would threaten the global financier’s “AAA” credit rating, he said that he would leverage the bank’s balance sheet “as hard as you can” to address climate issues, Reuters reported. Members of the Biden administration, notably including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and President Joe Biden himself, and climate activists have — at times over the objections of developing nations — called for Banga to shift the bank’s focus from combating poverty to additionally combating climate change. (RELATED: ‘Simply Do Better’: Left-Wing Groups Slam Biden Over ‘Planet-Wrecking’ World Bank Nominee)
“My logic is that if you add up all these kinds of ideas together, annually, you’re looking … in the tens of billions, not in the hundreds of billions,” Banga told the outlet. “I just think we have to be a little careful and a little sensible, of just how much we do on this, but we should do as much as we possibly can.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 01: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen meets with World Bank President Ajay Banga at the Treasury Department June 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Banga, the former CEO of Mastercard, assumed leadership of the World Bank in June. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The former MasterCard CEO also said that he would announce World Bank measures to combat pandemics and enhance its finances in addition to climate change plans over the next several months, according to Reuters. Banga in March said that a successful campaign against climate change would require trillions from private investors.
In total, the World Bank Group loaned $104 billion to borrowers in 2022, Reuters reported.
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