FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2019
CONTACT:
David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil.org
Alex Doukas, alex [at] priceofoil.org
Oil Change International Statement on Departure of World Bank President
In response to the announced departure of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Alex Doukas, Program Director at Oil Change International, released the following statement:
“Under President Kim, the World Bank Group demonstrated a degree of climate leadership by announcing an end to financing for oil and gas extraction, and by starting to tighten its rules on lending to private banks who then invest that money in fossil fuels. The World Bank Group still has a long way to go on climate action, and Kim’s departure should not put a stop to this recent progress.
“Given that the United States under Donald Trump has ceded any semblance of global leadership across important international issues, including climate change, the World Bank’s directors should move to select a qualified candidate who recognizes the urgent need for ambitious climate action, regardless of whom the Trump Administration puts forward. The process should be open, transparent, and merit-based, instead of a holdover process stemming from a 1940s-era ‘gentleman’s agreement.'”