13 October 2008: The annual meetings of the Boards of
Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank took place on
11-13 October 2008, in Washington DC, US. Finance ministers from developing and
industrialized nations attended the event, which was preceded by a meeting of
the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the Development
Committee. The IMFC and seminars during the week addressed the responses to the
current economic crisis, as well as the challenges posed by higher food and
fuel prices.

In the Development Committee’s communiqué, finance ministers
caution that, due to the current financial crisis, developing and transition
countries “risk very serious setbacks to their efforts to improve the lives of
their populations from any prolonged tightening of credit or sustained global
slowdown.” The communiqué further supports the World Bank’s stronger role in
helping countries deal with the causes and effects of climate change, as well
as the recent launch of the new Climate Investment Funds, including a Clean
Technology Fund and a Strategic Climate Fund. In particular, ministers
re-emphasize the primacy of the UNFCCC negotiation process, and “taking account
of the Bali Action Plan,” encourage the World Bank to support climate actions
in country-led development processes in a holistic manner, and to “customize
support to climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, as well as
capacity building needs, in its member countries.”
Regarding funds to address
climate change, they encourage the World Bank to “strengthen its resource
mobilization efforts, including facilitating access to additional concessional
financing, ensuring complementarity with other financing mechanisms (notably
the Global Environment Facility and the Adaptation Fund), supporting the
development of market-based financing mechanisms, leveraging private sector
resources, and seizing opportunities for innovation.” Ministers also encourage
the World Bank to increase its focus on mobilizing resources for adaptation and
play an active role in supporting the development and deployment of clean and
climate resilient technologies, and facilitating relevant R&D and
technology transfer. [IMF-World
Bank Annual Meetings 2008 website]