28 June 2010
The Washington Post published a BIC Letter to the Editor arguing that significant reform must accompany the World Bank's request for an $86.2 billion general capital increase.
source
The Washington Post
Monday, June 28, 2010
The timing of the June 25 news story "Pay raises at World Bank, IMF draw criticism" could not have been more fitting after the World Bank announced its request for an $86.2 billion general capital increase in April.
It's curious that the World Bank rewards its own staff with significant salary increases while simultaneously preaching the gospel of austerity to developing countries through its development policy lending operations.
We maintain the belief that the $86 billion endowment must accompany significant reform at the World Bank. Case in point: While publicly grasping at the reins of the international climate funds, the bank continues to bankroll coal-fired power plants of the last century, despite the existence of viable and sustainable energy alternatives. In fiscal 2010 alone, which ends this week, the World Bank has tallied $4.7 billion in fossil fuel lending.
This is hardly an enlightened approach in the era of climate concerns and emissions targets. If World Bank loans to developing countries are often predicated on reform, we believe it's only fair that the bank tastes a bit of its own medicine.
Rebecca Harris, Washington
The writer is information services coordinator for the Bank Information Center, which advocates for public accountability at the World Bank.
useful links
Pay raises at World Bank, IMF draw criticism, by Howard Schneider, The Washington Post, June 25, 2010 (Washington Post website)
Civil society statement on energy access and public financing of fossil fuels, May 6, 2010 (PDF, 124 KB)
World Bank Group financing for fossil fuels FY2008-FY2010, by Heike Mainhardt-Gibbs, Bank Information Center (PDF, 1.47MB)
BIC model Energy Strategy, by Yong Chen, Bank Information Center, April 23, 2010 (Acrobat PDF, 810 KB)