World Bank, IMF Slammed by US for Climate Focus, Boost for Polluters Pay Laws, SF Climate Week, and More

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🌊 Homes literally falling into the sea. Shoreline infrastructure degraded and destroyed. Public spaces and conservation zones washed away. These are just some of the consequences of climate change-induced coastal erosion that are already affecting society.

Want to learn about the tech and talent working to fight back against this menace? Then join Climate Proof's next Climate Adaptation Tech Roundtable this Wednesday, April 30, at 12:00 EDT.

Our featured speaker is Christy Swann, CEO of RCOAST, a company deploying the latest in geospatial intelligence and 3D scanning technology to help homeowners and entire townships fight back against climate-induced coastal threats.

US Treasury Secretary Knocks IMF, World Bank for Climate Focus

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for their focus on climate finance in a speech last Wednesday, while pledging ongoing American engagement with the international financial system.

Bessent accused the IMF of “mission creep”, claiming it “devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender, and social issues.” Instead, it should work on trade and payments imbalances and holding countries accountable for economic reforms. 

As for the World Bank, Bessent said it should stop trying to achieve “distortionary climate finance targets” and instead “prioritize affordability in energy access” — including by investing in fossil fuel production. 

The World Bank wants 45% of its annual financing to go toward climate-related projects this year, though president Ajay Banga said earlier this month that many of these would be “smart development” investments that have knock-on climate benefits. Half of the bank’s climate finance target for this year would be earmarked for adaptation and resilience, he added.

For its part, the IMF argues it “has an important role to play in helping its members institute fiscal and macroeconomic policies” to combat climate-related issues. In her curtain-raising speech ahead of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, which took place last week, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva did not directly address climate change, but called for “a more resilient world economy” considering the current era of “more frequent and severe shocks.”

On April 25, the World Bank’s Development Committee urged the multilateral lender to “continue working with partners and clients to develop practical solutions to respond to the impacts of natural disasters driven by the changing climate” and to continue investing in adaptation and resilience.

Despite his criticism of the two public financial institutions, Bessent said the US will continue to support them, alleviating fears that the IMF and World Bank’s most important national backer would walk away. “America First does not mean America alone,” he said. “To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners.”

In Brief

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has scrapped over 1,000 research grants following pressure from  the Trump administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Trump booster and world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The terminations came a day after the NSF Director resigned, following a White House demand to accept a 55% cut to the agency’s US$9bn budget next year and fire half its 1,700-person staff. The eliminated grants include those pursued by climate adaptation tech startups, Climate Proof has learned. (Science)

New York Governor Hochul announced last Tuesday a new US$60mn round of Green Resiliency Grants to fund stormwater and resilient infrastructure projects in flood-prone New York communities. The grant program, which is part of New York’s US$4.2bn Environmental Bond Act, is intended to support nature-based solutions that reduce flood risk, improve water quality, and strengthen climate resilience. Applications for the grants open May 1, with priority given to projects offering long-term, high-impact risk reduction.(New York Governor’s Office)

Sustainable investment funds saw record global outflows of US$8.6bn in Q1 2025, driven by sustained anti-ESG backlash in the US and regulatory uncertainty in Europe, according to analysis by Morningstar. Europe logged its first net outflows since tracking began in 2018, while US funds recorded their tenth consecutive quarter of redemptions. New fund growth also slowed, with 54 products launched in Q1, down from 105 the previous quarter. Asset managers stepped up rebranding efforts, too — 355 sustainable products in Europe had their names changed, including 116 that shed ESG-related terms in advance of incoming greenwashing rules established by the European Union. (Morningstar)

Green banks are seen as vital to closing the US$7.4trn annual climate finance gap, especially in emerging markets, according to a new report from the Climate Policy Institute (CPI). The study analyzes 51 public financial institutions from around the world, and offers best practices on mobilizing green banks to support climate goals. Among its recommendations, the CPI says green banks should enlarge their focus to adaptation and resilience, as well as forestry, land use, and nature-based solutions. (Climate Policy Initiative) 

Currency fluctuations are making it more expensive for poor countries to repay their foreign debt, sapping funds that could be used to build resilience against climate shocks. A new report from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) shows that the cumulative extra cost involved in repaying US dollar debt for Small Island Developing states because of changing exchange rates was some US$10.25bn over a 31-year period, and almost US$10bn for Least Developed Countries. Climate disasters often lead to further weakening of these countries’ currencies at the very same time they need more debt to pay for recovery and resilience — trapping them in a vicious cycle. The IIED calls for reforms including local currency lending and debt-for-climate swaps to ease this “silent drain” on poor countries’ development budgets and adaptive resilience. (International Institute for Environment and Development)

Top Polluters Linked to US$28trn in Climate Damages, Boosting ‘Superfund’ Laws

Climate laws that would force big polluters to pay for adaptation and resilience may get a boost from new research that quantifies how much specific fossil fuel companies have contributed to economic losses caused by climate change.

The research, published last week in Nature, estimates that from 1991 to 2020, emissions from 111 companies were linked to US$28trn in global economic losses from extreme heat alone — with five top emitters responsible for nearly a third of that total.

The findings could reinforce the nascent field of attribution science, which seeks to determine how likely climate shocks including floods, storms, and heatwaves are linked to fossil fuel-induced global warming. Attribution science is being used to justify a wave of ‘Climate Superfund’ laws across US states that aim to make oil and gas majors pay for adaptation measures in proportion to their emissions. Vermont was the first state to implement such a law, followed by New York. Other states, including California, are exploring their own versions.

The framework outlined in the Nature paper outlines a “but for” standard, using climate models and publicly available emissions data to illustrate what the world would look like “but for” a company’s pollution. This allows users to establish a causal link between corporate emissions and observed climate impacts.

The researchers argue that attribution science is now settled, and that companies can no longer hide behind the complexity of global emissions when the impacts of their contributions are increasingly measurable. “We argue that the scientific case for climate liability is closed, even if the future of these cases remains an open question,” said Justin Mankin, Associate Professor of Geography at Dartmouth College, the study’s senior author.

State-level Climate Superfund laws are currently being challenged by oil and gas industry groups and the US federal government. Earlier this month, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Justice to push back against the laws, and calling on the Attorney General to submit a report on her efforts to stop them from coming into effect.

In Brief

The Trump administration has dismantled the State Department office responsible for leading US global climate diplomacy, firing key staff involved in international climate negotiations and aid. The move further isolates the US from global efforts such as the Paris Agreement and net-zero targets for aviation and shipping. A State Department spokesperson said the office is “unnecessary.” (Reuters)

The US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has rescinded the service’s climate action program, which aimed to protect and prepare US military forces from rising sea levels, more extreme storms, and other shocks. Secretary Phelan said “our focus needs to be on lethality and our warfighters” in a message on the social media network X. (Secretary Phelan / X)

Maine Governor Janet Mills signed a bipartisan climate resiliency bill last Tuesday that earmarks US$39mn for enhancing the state’s defenses against severe storms. The law establishes new programs to support home hardening, improve emergency response systems, and augment floodplain management, while consolidating resilience efforts under a new State Resilience Office. (Maine Governor’s Office)

New York State launched a comprehensive Adaptation and Resilience Plan to coordinate climate risk preparedness across state agencies and local communities. It lays out a “collective vision” for addressing gaps in current adaptation efforts and promoting resilience measures, including shoreline restoration, relocation of critical infrastructure, and upgrade to roadways, dams, and bridges. Initial public outreach on the plan begins this summer, with funding and planning support already available through programs like the Climate Smart Communities Grant and the Environmental Bond Act. (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority)

Democratic lawmakers Senator Brian Schatz and Representative Sean Casten have reintroduced the Climate Change Financial Risk Act, mandating the Federal Reserve to conduct biennial climate stress tests on major financial institutions. The bill aims to gauge the resilience of top Wall Street lenders against extreme weather shocks like floods and wildfires as well as slow-onset risks like drought and sea-level rise, plus transition risks linked to the move to a net-zero economy. Climate advocacy group the Sierra Club welcomed the move, with Ben Cushing, Sustainable Finance Campaign Director, saying it “represents a much-needed step to ensure our financial system is better prepared for the growing risks of climate change.” (Senator Brian Schatz)

The White House told Reuters that it has no current plans to revoke the tax-exempt status of climate-focused nonprofits. The reassurance follows heightened concern among climate groups after remarks by President Trump on tax-exempt institutions and a flurry of memos from legal firms and advocacy organizations warning that executive actions could be on their way. (Reuters)

The UK’s Council for Science and Technology has urged the Prime Minister to take stronger action to unlock private investment in climate adaptation and resilience. In a letter dated September 2024, and made public last Wednesday, the Council outlines five key recommendations for the government: establish a “clear, ambitious and compelling vision and strategy for climate adaptation”; signal opportunities for private investment in climate adaptation; incorporate climate resilience in the mandates of UK regulatory bodies; have the Treasury and Department for Business and Trade explore blended finance opportunities for adaptation; and get the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to unlock climate data and analysis to better inform investment decisions. (Council for Science and Technology)

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has joined the Santiago Network, a global platform helping vulnerable countries tackle climate loss and damage — the impacts of climate disasters that exceed their adaptive capacity. As climate extremes increasingly devastate low-emitting nations, UNDP aims to scale its technical and financial support through the network, advancing resilience efforts like early warning systems, insurance tools, and community-led adaptation. (UNDP)

Adaptation Tech Moves Center Stage at San Francisco Climate Week

Participants at the just-wrapped San Francisco Climate Week (SFCW) made a strong case for adaptation solutions — particularly tech addressing wildfire risk, water scarcity, and declining crop yields.

According to CTVC, conversations at the week-long jamboree made it clear that “Adaptation is moving from nice-to-have to must-have”, with founders and investors talking more about “resilience” and “energy security” than “climate tech” itself. CTVC added that grid reliability and capacity were particularly hot topics given the growing demand on US energy supply from data centers and AI.

SFCW offered a stage for adaptation tech startups to shine, too. For example, the Yes San Francisco Urban Sustainability Challenge announced the winners of its latest innovation competition last Tuesday, raising up 12 startups that are working to make cities more livable. One was Re-Nuble, a startup that turns food waste into fertilizers to facilitate soil-less agriculture and help growers produce more crops using fewer chemicals. Another was XenDee, which provides a tech layer on top of distributed energy systems and microgrids to enhance power supply resiliency for clients.

In Brief

Precision irrigation company Irrigreen raised a US$19mn Series A funding round to scale its smart lawn sprinkler technology. Its devices use precision digital mapping and real-time weather data to inform optimum watering, reducing waste and saving homeowners money on their utility bills. Investors in this round included Natural Ventures, Burnt Island Ventures, Ulu Ventures, MFV Partners, Tamiami, and Sum Ventures. (Irrigreen)

Miami’s Morningside Park is piloting BIOCAP tiles — 3D-printed concrete structures shaped like coral reefs — to make traditional seawalls more climate-resilient. The tiles, developed by Florida International University, provide habitats for marine life and are supposed to reduce shoreline erosion by diffusing wave energy. The project also includes sensors and cameras to track environmental performance. (Florida International University)

A UK-developed satellite, called ‘Biomass’, will be the first to map the world’s tropical forests in 3D from space — offering new insights into carbon storage and deforestation. The satellite, scheduled to launch on April 29, is designed to penetrate cloud cover and measure biomass beneath the forest canopy, and should yield new data on how climate change is altering forest biomes. (UK Government)

RES

Rapid flips between warm and cold extremes in a warming world (Nature Communications)

Carbon majors and the scientific case for climate liability (Nature)

The role of artificial intelligence in microbial sciences to support climate resilience (Nature Reviews Microbiology)

Colliding Crises: How the climate crisis fuels gender-based violence (Spotlight Initiative)

Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall
Editor