Don’t Mention Climate: Trump Creates “Beyond Absurd” Situation at World Finance Summit

The White House, under President Donald Trump, is reportedly pressuring the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) to sideline discussions on climate change at their spring meetings in Washington, DC. This pressure includes demands from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last autumn to remove climate finance targets and promote an "all-of-the-above approach to energy." Consequently, a new “climate change action plan” (CCAP) for the World Bank, intended to replace the current strategy expiring in June, may be shelved. This situation is described as "beyond absurd" by insiders and experts, particularly amid an escalating oil crisis. The US, as the biggest shareholder in the World Bank with about 17 percent of its capital, is influencing these institutions, potentially forcing developing countries to choose between addressing climate change or risking an unbridgeable rift.