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UK foreign secretary to take World Bank board seat on climate and development
The move comes as the World Bank has faced pressure from the Trump administration to pull back climate finance, including after it dropped a prior 45% climate-linked funding goal.
UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband will take the United Kingdom’s seat on the board of the World Bank, signaling that climate and overseas development will be central to British foreign policy, the Guardian Business reports.
The outlet says the role, typically delegated to a junior minister, would give Miliband an active part in shaping changes demanded by developing countries, while keeping climate a core focus for UK international aid.
The announcement arrives amid ongoing extreme weather in Europe, including fires affecting parts of France and Spain, drought conditions that have triggered hosepipe bans in parts of England and Wales, and estimates that June’s heatwave cost European grain farmers about €2 billion in lost revenue, according to the report.
The Guardian Business also notes the timing for the World Bank, saying it has come under heavy pressure from the Trump administration to reverse prior focus on climate finance, including after the bank scrapped a goal for 45% of its finance to be directed to climate related ends; experts welcomed Miliband’s decision, with Lord Stern describing it as a powerful signal to the world.