Sense of urgency required to tackle climate crises and poverty: WB chief Banga

World Bank chief Ajay Banga said on Thursday that a sense of urgency could be the only savior for the world facing a series of intertwined crises, including those of climate and poverty.

“What we have is an existential climate crisis,” the World Bank president said here during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

“We cannot think about eradicating poverty without worrying about the climate. We can’t think about eradicating poverty without worrying about health care. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without worrying about food insecurity and vulnerability,” he said.

This is the reality and “we are facing a series of intertwined crises,” Banga said, emphasizing that a “sense of urgency is our only savior.”

According to him, 45 percent of World Bank financing will go to climate efforts.

In addition, the Bank has pledged to connect 100 million people in Africa to renewable energy by 2030, address inadequate financing to reduce methane emissions, help small countries absorb the costs of climate disasters, and ensure that benefits of carbon markets are felt by communities on the ground.

At the same session, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said this sense of urgency must be met by both governments and international institutions.

With Nationally Determined Contributions lagging about 50 percent behind what they should be in 2030, the IMF and its partners must ‘clamp down’ on governments and encourage them to step up their efforts, diverting resources from fossil fuel subsidies. and puts them back into climate action, she added.

First print: January 18, 2024 | 11:44 PM IST