Photo: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is still committed to helping countries affected by climate change even as the Trump administration wants the World Bank and IMF to stop their climate and inclusion work.
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the bank would still support countries affected by climate change even as it stays focused on incorporating Trump’s concerns into its policies.
Climate change was a light topic at the spring meetings in Washington DC last week as the Trump administration pulls the US back from its climate commitments and goals.
Some reports suggest the World Bank is playing down its work on climate change to avoid drawing the ire of the US, even as its core focus has not changed. Instead, topics have focused on jobs and economic growth.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a speech that the banks have gone too far on issues like climate change and called on them to refocus on macroeconomic stability and development. He said the leaders of the World Bank and IMF need to earn the trust of Trump by going “back to basics”.
“Mission creep has knocked these institutions off course,” he said, even as he acknowledged that they have value.
The US is one of the largest shareholders of both institutions and has called on the World Bank to broaden its energy lending to include fossil fuels and nuclear power.
The World Bank committed to increasing its climate-related funding when president Ajay Banga took the helm in 2023. In 2023, 44% of its lending went to climate-related projects, up 10% on the previous year.
In response to Bassent’s comments, Georgieva said climate change does have an impact on macroeconomic policy and that the IMF’s job was not to be a climate expert.
“”Our job is to say, ‘Okay, if you are Dominica and a hurricane can wipe out the equivalent of 200% of your GDP, what are reasonable policies put in place?’”
She added that Bassent’s concerns would be brought up with the lender’s 190 members.
This page was last updated May 1, 2025
Written by
Moriah Costa is the Editor-in-Chief of Green Central Banking and has over a decade of experience writing about banking and finance. She is an award-winning American journalist based in Paris and has written for major international publications, including Reuters, The Guardian, and S&P Global. Having grown up in water-stressed Arizona, she has always had a strong interest in bringing awareness to climate and environmental issues.
