United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ran into opposition from Republicans in the U.S. Congress Wednesday over proposed increases to climate spending and her World Bank reform agenda.
As Devex Senior Reporter Shabtai Gold writes, the Treasury Department`s international budget request seeks some $4 billion for multilateral institutions and funds — up from $2.3 billion approved for 2023.
Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, a Republican from Florida and chair of the appropriations subcommittee, decried “this extraordinary level of spending,” also citing concerns over corruption and poor “value for money” in international climate projects. He argued the Biden administration`s push for the World Bank to focus more on climate was a “wrapped-in-a-bow gift to China,” whereby Beijing could gain influence by funding fossil projects that others would not. “We felt it was important and appropriate to prioritize the use of very limited renewable energy MDB funds,” Yellen countered. But she added that the policy is “flexible” in that it can support natural gas as needed.
