World Bank Group and IMF deepen joint effort to scale up climate action
New York, June 1 (Hibya) - The World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are embarking on a significant journey, deepening their cooperation through an enhanced framework. As stated in their Joint Statement, this joint effort is designed to help countries scale up action to confront the threat of climate change, a crucial task that the financial groups are committed to.
"The collaboration will provide critical support for countries’ climate strategies—through an integrated, country-led approach to policy reforms and climate investments. Within their respective mandates, the World Bank Group and the IMF will leverage their analytics, technical assistance, financing, and policy expertise to enhance country-driven reform programs," read the Joint Statement.
According to the Joint Statement, three principles will underpin the framework:
- First, countries, the World Bank Group, and the IMF will work together closely to identify each country’s climate challenges—and the priority policy reforms needed to address them. This process will be informed by the World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), the IMF’s climate-related analytics, and countries’ climate ambitions.
- Second, the World Bank Group and the IMF will work with other Multilateral Development Banks and development partners to help countries implement the reforms through technical assistance and financing.
- Third, upon request, the World Bank Group and the IMF will help establish country-led platforms designed to mobilise additional climate finance, including from the private sector.
The enhanced framework will build on lessons learned since the release of the institutions’ Joint Statement on Enhancing IMF-World Bank Collaboration in September 2023.
"This enhanced cooperation between the two institutions will foster country-driven partnerships, galvanise policy changes, and scale up investments to meet countries’ climate needs" said the financial groups, adding that the joint effort will also optimise the increased resources the institutions are dedicating to climate action and crowd-in additional resources from development partners and private sector.