World Bank president David Malpass will step down by the end of June.
Malpass continues to face criticism for how the global multilateral development bank has responded to the climate crisis under his leadership.
- Malpass said on Wednesday that he plans to step down before his five-year term expires in April 2024.
- World leaders and environmentalists criticized Malpass last year after he refused to say if he believed in anthropogenic climate change.
- It is unknown who will replace Malpass but Rajiv Shah and Samantha Power are the two leading contenders.
- Power heads the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while Shah served as USAID administrator under former President Barack Obama.
- Malpass was nominated by former President Donald Trump in 2019.
Zoom Out:
- The World Bank was established at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 with a mandate to help Europe finance its reconstruction after World War 2.
- The institution has since focused on reducing global poverty but has recently faced pressure from the U.S. and other shareholders to widen its focus to include climate change-related issues.
