Changes to Come at World Bank, Chief Says

He also pointed out that now was not the time to ask member countries to boost contributions to the World Bank, saying in the report, “At this point, I see really no appetite … it is not the time for us to have a discussion about a capital increase; this is something I don’t think the donor countries are ready for.”

Instead, Kim said the Tokyo meetings would focus on higher food prices and the struggles of farmers all over the world to keep producing in the face of climate change. Drought in the U.S. and in Russia’s Black Sea region have driven yields down and prices higher, though not yet to the levels seen in 2008.

“This is the first drought that scientists clearly attributed to manmade climate change,” Kim said in the report. “Climate change is real, the scientific community is in overwhelming in agreement about the dimensions about manmade climate change and we simply must face it.”

An indication of the new direction he wants the bank to focus on is helping governments to create atmospheres in which businesses can thrive and create jobs.

In the report, he said, “One of the things we are trying to do is define more clearly what is the bottom line for the World Bank, what is it that we really do, and how we are going to organize ourselves so that every day we are working toward that bottom line.” He added, “It seems clear that what we’re best at and what people have the greatest passion for is to work to end poverty. The way we do that is by boosting prosperity.”