Miliband to personally take UK seat on World Bank board
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will take up the United Kingdom's seat on the World Bank board, a position usually delegated to a junior minister, in a move that signals climate and overseas development are at the core of British foreign policy. The decision allows Miliband to play an active role in shaping reforms to the global lender that developing countries have long demanded, ensuring climate remains a central focus for overseas aid.
Development central to foreign policy
Miliband, who previously served as energy and net zero secretary under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, stated: "International development is not an add-on to British foreign policy – it is central to it. By taking on the role of UK governor to the World Bank, I want to send an unambiguous signal that this government is serious about its global leadership on development and climate."
The announcement comes amid devastating fires in France and Spain, and after Scotland requested military aid to combat a blaze in the Cairngorms. Drought conditions across England and parts of Wales have led to hosepipe bans, and the June heatwave across Europe cost grain farmers an estimated €2 billion (£1.7 billion) in lost revenue.
Boosting climate action at a critical time
By personally occupying the World Bank seat, Miliband sends a clear message that the Foreign Office will continue to drive climate action, even as some politicians argue against net zero policies. The move occurs at a pivotal moment for the World Bank, which has faced pressure from the Trump administration to reverse its previous climate finance focus. Last month, the bank scrapped its goal of directing 45% of its finance to climate-related ends.
Experts welcomed Miliband's decision as a boost to climate action. Lord Stern, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics, said the foreign secretary's assumption of the UK governor's seat would "send a powerful and important signal" to the world. "As a former chief economist and senior vice-president of the World Bank, I know that the UK can punch above its weight. But only if the leadership is there from the top. In recent years, that has slipped. Ed Miliband will be restoring development and climate to the priority in our international relationships that they must have, in a world facing climate and biodiversity crises, and with real and growing threats to the wellbeing of the world's poorest," Stern added.
Challenges and expectations
Other countries have been hesitant to challenge the US on its anti-climate stance, fearing reprisals and amid widespread cuts to overseas aid from developed nations. The UK is one of six countries with its own seat on the World Bank board. Mohamed Adow, director of the thinktank Power Shift Africa, said Miliband could champion changes that benefit the poor. "The real test is whether the UK uses its influence to push the World Bank to deliver far more finance for climate action and adaptation, to get money to countries faster, and ensure the poorest nations are not forced deeper into debt to respond to a crisis they did least to cause. If this appointment marks the start of renewed British leadership on global climate and development, it will be warmly welcomed across Africa," Adow said.
Miliband faces a shrinking aid budget and tough allocation decisions. Starmer reduced overseas aid to 0.3% of gross national income, a sharp cut from 0.5% under the Conservatives and the 0.7% achieved under the last Labour government. Climate finance was also cut by 14%, from £11.6 billion for the 2021–2026 period to £2 billion annually.
Controversy over bus fare funding
Prime Minister Andy Burnham faced criticism last week for stating that his planned £2 cap on bus fares in England would be funded mainly by converting international climate finance grants into repayable loans. These loans will go to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, an investment fund established by the Brazilian government. Jonathan Hall, managing director of Conservation International UK, urged the government to reverse the cuts Starmer made to nature protection funding, noting that Britain's spy chiefs have warned that ecosystem collapse overseas threatens national security. "Miliband now needs to reintroduce a clear target for a third of the UK's £6 billion climate aid budget to finance natural ecosystems and tropical forests, a goal which was lost under his predecessor," Hall said.
The UK is set to assume the presidency of the G20 group in November. Rachel Kyte, the UK's climate envoy and a former senior World Bank official, commented: "We will be in the midst of an energy and food security crisis from the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. Compounding that is a severe El Niño. We will need every ounce of capacity in the international financial architecture to help some parts of the world through the severity of these impacts. Ed has seen what it takes to mobilise the world to action before, pulling every lever we have available to us. If needed, we will do it again, for our own and everyone else's security."
