- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
World Bank revamp to start by April on push to broaden mission: Yellen
The first stages of a World Bank revamp are set to begin by April, amid a push for lenders to evolve and meet global challenges like climate change, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday.
While development lenders need to further their main mission of poverty reduction and inclusive growth, it is also key that they tackle global problems, she said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"(Their) core model involves countries borrowing to make specific investments aimed at addressing development constraints in their own countries," Yellen said.
"That model is insufficient to meet the moment," she added.
This is because it tends to underinvest in battling global challenges that go beyond a country's borders.
"We have begun the evolution of the World Bank. Next, we expect to take this agenda to the regional development banks," she said.
"It's time for these banks to address global challenges head on -- with the urgency and scale that is required," she added.
Last October, before the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Yellen said she and other leaders would call on the bank's management to develop an evolution roadmap by December.
The United States is the World Bank's largest shareholder.
Outlining ongoing work at the World Bank, Yellen said it must create incentives for countries to fight global challenges such as by lowering investment costs for certain projects to be more viable.
For example, the bank could identify "concessional resources" that go towards incentivizing the decommissioning of coal plants and protecting displaced workers during a clean energy transition.
The bank could also make it easier for cities to gain access to funding for climate-smart infrastructure, she said.
"The first phase of implementation should begin by the World Bank and IMF spring meetings in April," according to Yellen.
Shareholders are working on updates to the bank's vision and mission, and there are discussions on ways to boost financial headroom.
"We are asking for additional reforms to be decided and implementation to begin by the... annual meetings in October," she added.
An initial paper from bank management dated December said calls for a roadmap to respond to poverty reduction, shared prosperity and global challenges are "welcome." It added that progress to tackle these issues will take a "concerted global effort."
P.Petrenko--CPN