Trump's Climate Silence Demand Creates 'Beyond Absurd' Global Finance Talks
The spring meetings for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington DC will be attended by delegates from up to 189 countries this week, but a critical topic may be conspicuously absent from official discussions: the climate crisis.
Developing Countries Face Shelved Climate Action Plan
Governments desperate for cash to protect their citizens from the growing impacts of climate change are being put in what experts call a "beyond absurd" situation at global finance talks. They are being urged not to mention climate issues, even as they address the current oil crisis and energy security concerns.
The meetings take place amid fragile geopolitical tensions and were expected to forge a new "climate change action plan" (CCAP) for the world's biggest provider of funds to developing countries. The current strategy expires in June, but now the new plan may be shelved entirely.
US Pressure Forces Climate Discussion Into Corridors
With the oil crunch still affecting global markets, delegates might have been expected to discuss investments in renewable energy, which many see as crucial to energy security and an antidote to volatility. Climate finance remains a pressing issue for poor countries already paying billions each year to repair damage from droughts, floods and storms.
If these discussions are instead largely confined to whispers in corridors, the reason is clear: the US president, Donald Trump. Insiders have revealed the White House is forcing countries to choose between opening up a potentially unbridgeable rift or playing down the climate crisis and trying to squeeze in green priorities by the back door.
World Bank Climate Targets Under Pressure
Last autumn, US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent demanded the removal of some climate finance targets from the World Bank's aims and insisted it must "finance all affordable and reliable sources of energy" including gas, oil and coal. The US is the biggest shareholder in the World Bank, with about 17% of its capital.
Other countries, including large developed economies, have reacted with alarm. Senior staff of several international finance and development institutions have said the US has piled pressure on the World Bank, the IMF and other publicly funded institutions over climate issues.
Although climate remains technically on the agenda, people at senior levels are reportedly "self-censoring" and removing the term from reports and projects. Some leading countries now prefer not to push for a new CCAP at all.
Experts Warn of Disastrous Consequences
"It is beyond absurd that, in the middle of an escalating oil crisis, a World Bank meeting could sideline talk of climate change," said Mohamed Adow, director of the Power Shift Africa thinktank. "Fossil fuels and the climate emergency are inextricably linked. This moment is a huge opportunity to accelerate the shift away from fossil-fuel dependence."
Catherine Abreu, director of the International Climate Politics Hub, added: "The spring meetings will be a big test of these institutions. Will we see the World Bank and IMF unable to respond to the majority of their members, because they are swayed by these powerful minorities?"
Current Climate Commitments at Risk
Under its current CCAP, the World Bank Group aims to devote 35% of all its funding to climate-related activities, half of which should be for adaptation. The group has also moved to end most finance to fossil fuels, though loopholes remain. The World Bank is the biggest single source of climate funding, and many donor countries channel their climate finance largely through multilateral development banks.
At the Cop29 UN climate summit in Azerbaijan in 2024, countries agreed that at least $1.3 trillion a year should flow to the developing world by 2035, to help countries cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with extreme weather impacts. Developed countries committed $300 billion annually of that total, and reaching the target cannot happen without the World Bank.
Potential Workarounds and Continued Progress
Lord Stern, a former World Bank chief economist and now professor at the London School of Economics, suggested much could still be achieved without formally labeling projects as climate-related. "You don't have to plant big climate flags on these things, it's just a good investment," he said.
He pointed to agriculture, forests, water, energy, and public transport projects that remain highly relevant to tackling the climate crisis without highlighting climate change specifically. "Building a metro is not a covert climate action; it's just doing things better," Stern noted regarding mass transit systems in developing world cities.
A World Bank Group spokesperson stated: "The World Bank Group supports public and private clients in achieving their smart development goals. This includes building low-carbon, resilient infrastructure and energy systems that manage emissions responsibly so countries can create jobs and sustain growth."
The spokesperson added that over the last decade, 215 million people have gained new or improved access to electricity through current energy programmes, with expectations this number will grow to 575 million.
There remains much work to be done on clarifying what should make up the $300 billion and $1.3 trillion climate finance targets. Stern emphasized: "The way climate finance is counted is something I hope will develop. Without jiggery-pokery, there are lots of things that we should be supporting that should be counted toward the global climate finance goal."
