Publication: Transcript of Media Roundtable for East Asia and the Pacific
Loading...
Published
2021-07-15
ISSN
Date
2021-07-16
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
David Malpass, President of the World Bank, remarked that the immediate priority for developing countries is widespread access to Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines that match their deployment programs. in response to the sharp increase in demand, the World Bank has increased financing for vaccines to twenty billion dollars globally over the next eighteen months. He spoke about providing grants to the countries that are most in need, including fragile and small states. The World Bank is working jointly with the IMF in order to use the Common Framework in order to provide debt relief for countries and create the fiscal space they need. The new World Bank climate change action plan is going to create a shift in paradigm in order to connect development and investment and to focus on priorities in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Malpass, David. 2021. Transcript of Media Roundtable for East Asia and the Pacific. Remarks delivered July 15, 2021;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35942 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Remarks at the Western and Central Africa Regional Media Roundtable(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05-20)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has taken a toll on African lives, economies, and livelihoods. The World Bank intends to invest and mobilize about $150 billion over the next five years in Africa to support the continent’s recovery from the pandemic and its long-term development. He urged countries that expect to have excess vaccine supplies to release their excess as soon as possible to developing countries that have delivery programs in place. He emphasized the need for greater transparency in contracts between governments, pharmaceutical companies, and organizations that are involved in vaccine production and delivery so that financing can be directed effectively, and countries can plan for receipt and deployment. The World Bank yesterday launched a comprehensive online portal that provides easy access to information about their projects, including individual country-financing operations. He spoke about comprehensive debt solutions which will involve at least four elements: debt suspension, debt reduction, debt resolution, and debt transparency. He stated that without private creditors fully onboard, the Common Framework will not deliver a sustainable solution for Chad, Ethiopia, or Zambia. As countries work to recover, tackling climate change will be key for the region. The Bank is also working to address fragility, conflict, and violence. He concluded that while we know that the road to recovery will be long, countries in the region have applied lessons from previous crisis such as the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014, and many countries have strengthened their social safety nets to help protect the poor that have been most affected by the crisis, and to move faster on key reforms and investments that will be crucial for long-term development.Publication Remarks at Media Roundtable during Annual Meetings 2021(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-11)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed a broad range of development issues, including the economic outlook, growth, vaccines, debt, climate, and trade. World Bank financing operations will be addressed at the annual meeting as well as our climate change action plan, which aims to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve adaptation. We expect global growth of 5.7 percent in 2021 and 4.4 percent in 2022, these are very similar to our projections in the June Global Economic Prospects report. Incoming high-frequency data point to slowing momentum in global activity amid persistent supply chain bottlenecks and COVID-19 surges. Moreover, the global recovery remains dramatically uneven. The outlook is challenging for much of the developing world with lagging vaccination rates, rising inflation, limited policy support, too few jobs, and shortages that extend to food, water, and electricity. As of mid-2021, over half of IDA countries, those are the world’s poorest countries, are in external debt distress or at high risk of it. A comprehensive approach, including debt reduction, swifter restructuring and more transparency is needed to help countries assess and manage their external debt risks and work toward sustainable debt levels and terms. These are fundamental to supporting health systems, education, and infrastructure and creating growth, investment, and prosperity. Enhanced and accelerated implementation of the Common Framework will be critical in achieving this much-needed debt transparency and sustainability.Publication Remarks to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-11-20)World Bank Group President David Malpass said that while some countries are recovering, the pandemic is still taking a terrible toll, with poverty levels rising sharply. He highlighted on the health emergency response programs in one hundred twelve countries using a fast-track mechanism that is now able to access a further window of twelve billion in funding for vaccine purchases and delivery. He also mentioned that the World Bank is already at work in cooperation with WHO, UNICEF, the Global Fund and GAVI on rapid vaccine deployment readiness assessments for one hundred countries. He spoke about IFC working in coordination with CEPI to invest a further four billion in manufacturing and distribution of vaccines and products that support vaccination programs. He recognized that fragile conflict and violence (FCV) states are most in need, and World Bank's engagement with them. Under his Presidency, the World Bank Group has invested more in climate finance than at any time in its history. He mentioned that IDA is frontloading its financing to make more resources available for the poorest countries. He highlighted on an important step that the G20 call on DSSI beneficiary countries to commit to disclose all public sector financial commitments. The Development Committee that asked the Bank and the IMF to propose more actions to address the unsustainable debt burdens of low- and middle-income countries. He concluded that the fuller transparency is the only way to balance the interests of the people with the interests of those signing the debt and investment contracts.Publication Interview with Beatrice Janzon, Swedish Radio International(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06-01)David Malpass, President of the World Bank, discussed with Beatrice Janzon, Swedish Radio International, the following topics: long-term effects of children out of school during the pandemic, economic recovery for developing countries, importance of vaccinations for the developing countries, and World Bank on Paris Agreement on Climate Change.Publication Remarks to the Spring Meetings 2021 Development Committee(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-04-09)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about how the Development Committee plays an essential and unique role in the international cooperation architecture. He highlighted the actions taken by World Bank to respond quickly to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which includes new COVID-related emergency health programs in 112 countries, vaccination operations that are expected to reach four billion dollars in commitments available in fifty countries by mid-year, and a quick doubling of trade and working capital finance to help fill the banking vacuum that hit private sectors. He urged all to consider how we can restore growth in developing countries and help reverse the growing inequality, in terms of access to vaccinations, unsustainable debt, and adverse climate impacts. He was very pleased with the G20’s endorsement of advancing the IDA replenishment cycle to 2021. He mentioned that the main elements of the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan were presented last week. He discussed the three topics of Debt, Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccines, and Green Resilient and Inclusive Development which are critical to a sustainable recovery. He concluded we can generate a recovery that ensures a broad and lasting rise in prosperity, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Western Balkans 6 Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2024-07-16)This Regional Western Balkans Countries Climate and Development Report (CCDR) stands out in several ways. In a region that often lacks cohesive regional alliances, this report emphasizes how the challenges faced across countries are often common and interconnected, and, importantly, that climate action requires coordination on multiple fronts. Simultaneously, it illustrates the differences across countries, places, and people that require targeted strategies and interventions. This report demonstrates how shocks and stressors re intensifying and how investments in adaptation could bring significant benefits in the form of avoided losses, accelerated economic potential, and amplified social and economic spillovers. Given the region’s high emission and energy intensity and the limitations of its current fossil fuel-based development model, the report articulates a path to greener and more resilient growth, a path that is more consistent with the aspiration of accession to the EU. The report finds that the net zero transition can be undertaken without compromising the economic potential of the Western Balkans and that it could lead to higher growth than under the Reference Scenario (RS) with appropriate structural reforms.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-03)This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) on the Kyrgyz Republic aims to support the country’s development goals amid a changing climate. The CCDR considers two policy scenarios up to 2050: the business-as-usual (BAU) and high-growth scenarios. As it quantifies the likely impacts of climate change on the Kyrgyz economy between now and 2050, the report highlights key government actions to best prepare for and adapt to climate impacts (referred to as “with adaptation” measures), with a particular focus on the time horizon up to 2030. The CCDR also outlines a path to net zero emissions by 2050 (referred to as “with mitigation” measures, “decarbonization,” or, simply, “net zero 2050”), highlighting associated development co-benefits.Publication Tunisia Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-11-29)This Climate Change and Development Report (CCDR) establishes the case for a new economic model to address Tunisia’s challenging economic and social context and vulnerability to climate change. Building on extensive analyses and consultations (see Box 1 for our approach), the CCDR calls for a new model that emphasizes the role of the private sector in generating most jobs, while the state focuses on its regulating function, funding expenditures with the highest social and economic returns, and directing resources to interventions that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. The proposed model would involve major changes, such as using pricing to rationalize the consumption of resources and creating economic conditions that support private investments in climate adaptation and decarbonization. It would also involve a shift from recurrent public expenditures to public investments in adaptation and decarbonization.Publication Kazakhstan Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) are new core diagnostic reports that integrate climate change and development considerations. The CCDR for Kazakhstan identifies ways that Kazakhstan can achieve its development objectives while fostering the transition to a more green, resilient, and inclusive development pathway. It sets out policy reforms and investments needed to build resilience to climate change impacts and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while creating a more diversified, competitive and sustainable economy.Publication Côte d’Ivoire Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-11-02)Le présent CCDR comporte trois messages principaux: (i) En premier lieu, le maintien du statu quo ne permettra plus de soutenir la croissance économique de la Côte d'Ivoire et ses ambitions de devenir un pays à revenu intermédiaire de la tranche supérieure à l’horizon 2030, tout en réduisant considérablement la pauvreté. Toutes choses étant égales par ailleurs, et dans le cadre d’un scénario de climat sec/plus chaud, le changement climatique devrait réduire le produit intérieur brut (PIB) réel de 13 pour cent d’ici à 2050, ce qui empêcherait 1,63 million de personnes de s’affranchir de la pauvreté. Quoique dispendieuses, les mesures d’adaptation peuvent potentiellement compenser une grande partie de l’impact négatif du climat, notamment sur les populations démunies; (ii) Deuxièmement, des secteurs économiques clés, dont le cacao et l’énergie, courent le risque de connaître des contre-performances si aucune mesure n’est prise maintenant même pour faire face aux impacts climatiques et tirer parti des mutations technologiques ou des changements réglementaires. En outre, les centres urbains, qui sont des pôles économiques, sont exposés aux dommages climatiques subis par les infrastructures et aux pertes considérables de moyens de subsistance subies par les populations démunies vivant dans des communautés à faibles revenus. Des menaces planent également sur les routes, les réseaux numériques et les autres infrastructures qui assurent l’interconnectivité au plan national, garantissant l’efficacité des déplacements et l’accès aux marchés et aux services; (iii) Troisièmement, la Côte d'Ivoire n’est pas actuellement prête à faire face aux conséquences du changement climatique. Sa capacité d’adaptation en est encore à ses balbutiements, ses institutions et sa coordination de l’action en faveur du climat sont fragmentaires, et ses politiques et programmes ne sont pas à la hauteur du défi climatique auquel sont confrontées les populations vulnérables. Entre-temps, la mise en œuvre des stratégies et plans existants reste limitée. Les composantes réglementaires, institutionnelles et climatiques nécessaires à la gestion des impacts climatiques doivent être revues ou mises en place. Certes, la croissance du secteur privé a connu une tendance positive, mais elle n’atteint pas encore son potentiel en termes de portée et d’échelle, si bien qu’elle doit encore se développer pour jouer son rôle essentiel à l’adaptation aux effets du changement climatique et à leur atténuation.