World Bank President David Malpass is not a scientist.
He’s also far from the first person to say this while casting doubt on the reality of human-caused climate change.
The former Trump official reminded the world of his lack of scientific credentials Tuesday when pressed by a New York Times reporter during Climate Week NYC. “I don’t even know — I’m not a scientist,” he said in response to repeated questions about whether he accepts the science of climate change.
Malpass has spent the rest of the week doing damage control.
“It’s clear that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are adding to — are causing — climate change,” he told POLITICO’s Ryan Heath in an online conversation Friday, in which he said he regrets his “poorly chosen line.”
“I am not a denier,” he said Thursday during an appearance on CNN International.
Despite Malpass’ backtracking, climate groups from around the world have called on the World Bank’s board of directors to fire him. Doing little to reassure his critics, Malpass offered to meet with some climate scientists while continuing to stress the need for fossil fuels in some parts of the world.
The immediate backlash and Malpass’ swift pivot highlight one difference between today and six or seven years ago, when a series of Republican politicians faced few if any consequences for proffering their lack of scientific experience to avoid answering questions about climate change.
“What I have said repeatedly is I’m not a scientist,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told a Kentucky sports radio show in 2014, shortly before his commanding reelection victory. “Listen, I’m not qualified to debate the science over climate change,” then-Speaker John Boehner of Ohio said at a news conference earlier that year.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio got the ball rolling in 2012 when he said, “I’m not a scientist, man,” in response to questions about how old the planet is.
New York magazine ran a story around the time titled, “Why Do Republicans Always Say ‘I’m Not a Scientist’?”
Malpass’ about-face may demonstrate that expressions of climate denial are no longer as tolerable, but that doesn’t make achieving the emissions reductions needed to stave off catastrophe any easier.
And critics point out that the World Bank has been far less aggressive than other international banks in backing away from fossil fuel financing, as Corbin Hiar, Avery Ellfeldt and Sara Schonhardt report for POLITICO’s E&E News.
Thank goodness it’s Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected]
Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Catherine Morehouse explains why grid operators asked customers to conserve power during heat waves in California this month.
Big silver lining
The Montreal Protocol didn’t just preserve the ozone layer. It helped save Earth from a climate change time bomb, writes Jean Chemnick.
“If we let the [those chemicals] keep growing, we would have had the impacts of climate change that we’re feeling now … a decade ago,” said David Doniger, a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “And things would be that much worse now.”
(Almost) made in America
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration may help fund overseas mining projects to obtain more minerals necessary to build renewable energy technology, writes Jael Holzman.
Blinken’s remarks indicate the Biden administration could use public funds to take a swing at China’s share of the mining industry, as U.S. auto and tech companies race to find new sources of minerals without Chinese ties.
Global appeal
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is pitching his permitting reform legislation to global energy leaders and private sector executives as essential to achieving the full goals of President Joe Biden’s climate law, writes Kelsey Tamborrino.
Most of the developed world can build and permit infrastructure in a few years, but the U.S. permitting process can take as long as a decade, the Democrat said.
Fires: Wildfire smoke is erasing progress on clean air.
Ruinous floods and constant heat: Scenes from a summer’s extreme weather.
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Alaska’s Democratic candidate for governor wants to eliminate $1.2 billion in state subsidies to oil companies.
California regulators approved a sweeping plan to cut air pollution, including through the phaseout of heaters that use natural gas.
The Energy Department is deploying $4.9 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law to tackle and store carbon emissions from the power and industrial sectors.
That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
