“When asked, ‘Are you a climate denier?’ I should have said no,” Malpass said, later adding, “It’s a badly chosen route, which I regret because we as an organization go through the process every day. using science.”
Malpass said none of the World Bank’s 187 member countries had called for his resignation, and shareholders had expressed “strong support for the World Bank, to me,” he told Heath.
Malpass also said he would “absolutely” be trained as a climate scientist to improve his understanding of the science behind climate change.
“That’s not a good word for me,” Malpass reiterated. “We got a lot of input from the global scientific community.”
At the White House, press secretary Carin Jean-Pierre condemned Malpass’ earlier comments at a Friday news conference, but declined to say whether the White House supported his removal, noting that doing so would require a majority of shareholders support.
“We disagree with President Malpass’ comments. We expect the World Bank to become a global leader in climate ambition and mobilization, and to provide developing countries with more climate finance,” said Jean-Pierre.