Tangible progress could be seen on multilateral development banks’ reform and climate finance commitments at the World Bank and IMF’s Spring Meetings, according to E3G Senior Policy Advisor Laura Sabogal Reyes.

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Agreement in July, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings were an opportune time to showcase how far multilateral development banks (MDBs) have come on their transition journey.

At the time the institutions were created, the world was emerging from a period of intense global conflict. Many point to similar crises facing the world today, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the impending climate emergency.

As such, there is a growing consensus that MDBs need to rethink their purpose, with the G20 New Delhi leaders’ declaration in September 2023 calling on the multilaterals to become “better, bigger and more effective”.

The World Bank has been in the vanguard of MDB transformation since its new president, Ajay Banga, took office just under a year ago, so the gathering in Washington was a suitable time to assess its progress. Foremost in many minds was the question of how the institution’s new mission, “to create a world free of poverty on a liveable planet”, is playing out in reality. Modifying the bank’s mission statement to incorporate sustainability objectives was an important achievement for Banga.

“It may not seem like a big deal [to add ‘on a liveable planet’], but it was a big deal,” Laura Sabogal Reyes, Senior Policy Advisor, Public Banks and Development at think tank E3G, told ESG Investor. “Now, we are entering the implementation phase.”

A critical component in rolling out the mission is the World Bank’s new corporate scorecard, Sabogal Reyes explained. Published on 9 April, the scorecard outlines how the World Bank’s projects will be evaluated and aligns with internal incentives. Notably, the new scorecard has reduced the number of key performance indicators (KPIs) from 150 to 22.

“These KPIs will ensure that the key priorities of the bank are mainstreamed, including topics relating to climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions and social inequality,” said Sabogal Reyes. “Importantly, the World Bank needs to deploy a model where climate and development come together because the transition needs to be just and fair – otherwise it will not succeed.”

At the Spring Meetings, the World Bank launched a new lending