In an environment of intertwined challenges – including an existential climate crisis, a fledgling pandemic recovery, and a crippling war on the borders of Europe – the World Bank has never been more relevant. But, to deliver solutions at scale, the Bank must adopt a new vision that is worthy of its stakeholders’ shared aspirations.
WASHINGTON, DC – World leaders are all too familiar with the global community’s challenges – loss of progress in our fight against poverty, an existential climate crisis, a fledgling pandemic recovery, and a crippling war on the borders of Europe. But beneath the surface, a deep mistrust is quietly pulling the Global North and South apart at a time when we need to be uniting if we are to have any hope of overcoming these intertwined crises.
The Global South’s frustration is understandable. In many ways, these countries are paying the price for the prosperity of others. When they should be ascendant, they’re concerned promised resources will be diverted to Ukraine’s reconstruction; they feel their aspirations are being constrained because energy rules aren’t applied universally, and they’re worried a burgeoning generation will be locked into a prison of poverty.
But the truth is that we cannot endure another period of emission-intensive growth. We must find a way to finance a different world, one where climate resilience is strong, pandemics are manageable, food is abundant, and fragility and poverty are defeated.
WASHINGTON, DC – World leaders are all too familiar with the global community’s challenges – loss of progress in our fight against poverty, an existential climate crisis, a fledgling pandemic recovery, and a crippling war on the borders of Europe. But beneath the surface, a deep mistrust is quietly pulling the Global North and South apart at a time when we need to be uniting if we are to have any hope of overcoming these intertwined crises.
The Global South’s frustration is understandable. In many ways, these countries are paying the price for the prosperity of others. When they should be ascendant, they’re concerned promised resources will be diverted to Ukraine’s reconstruction; they feel their aspirations are being constrained because energy rules aren’t applied universally, and they’re worried a burgeoning generation will be locked into a prison of poverty.
But the truth is that we cannot endure another period of emission-intensive growth. We must find a way to finance a different world, one where climate resilience is strong, pandemics are manageable, food is abundant, and fragility and poverty are defeated.