Trump Administration Pressures IMF and World Bank to Abandon Climate Finance Goals

During the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, the Trump administration demonstrated a strategic shift in its approach to these international financial institutions. While showing increased engagement with the IMF and World Bank after previously criticizing them, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed aggressively for both institutions to abandon climate finance goals and targets, calling them "distortionary" and "nonsensical." The administration demanded the institutions return to their "core missions" and increase support for fossil fuel infrastructure in developing nations. This pressure has stalled negotiations over the World Bank's climate policy framework and threatens to shelve crucial green action plans, despite opposition from other major shareholders including France and developing countries that rely on climate financing.

"Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the World Bank's climate targets "distortionary" and "nonsensical" while praising the institutions for turning away from climate financing." — Statement made during IMF and World Bank spring meetings in April 2026