US chides World Bank chief David Malpass over climate denial row as chorus grows for his ouster

The White House condemned Malpass after he declined to say whether he believed man-made emissions were warming the planet

Malpass has moved to clarify his position several times in recent days, saying ‘I’m not a denier,’ as activists called on the US to sack him

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World Bank chief David Malpass. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:35am, 24 Sep 2022Updated: 11:38am, 24 Sep 2022

The White House on Friday rebuked the head of the World Bank David Malpass, who is battling charges of climate denial for dodging questions on the role of man-made emissions in global warming.

Under mounting fire, Malpass has rejected suggestions he might quit over the uproar – and has moved to clarify his position several times in recent days.

“Look, it’s clear that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are adding to, are causing climate change,” he told Politico on Friday, affirming that none of the bank’s member countries had asked him to leave and that he was “not resigning.”

“The task for us, for the world, is to pull together the projects and the funding that actually has an impact,” he said.

Malpass is a veteran of Republican US administrations and was tapped to lead the bank in 2019 by then-president Donald Trump, who famously and repeatedly denied the science behind climate change.

Climate activists have previously called for Malpass to be removed for what they say is an inadequate approach to the climate crisis – but the chorus grew suddenly louder after his appearance at a New York Times-organised conference this week.