The gaffe heard around the World (Bank)

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Feb 17, 2023 View in browser   By Debra Kahn Presented by Panasonic THE WEEK THAT WAS Malpass leaves the stage. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo PASSING ON MALPASS — World Bank President David Malpass said five months ago that he "wasn't a scientist." Now he's on his way to not being president of the World Bank, either. Malpass said Wednesday that he would step down by the end of June. He didn't say why, but everyone assumed it was because of the steady drumbeat of criticism that accumulated after he fumbled the most basic of climate-policy questions at New York City's Climate Week in September. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is excited about Malpass' resignation. | Twitter Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen — who criticized the bank's work on climate just last week and will play a major role in appointing Malpass' successor — emphasized the turning of the page, Corbin Hiar reports for POLITICO's E&E News. The United States, the World Bank's largest shareholder, will nominate a successor "who will carry forward the vital work we are undertaking to evolve the multilateral development banks to better meet the challenges of the 21st century," Yellen said in a statement. "That includes by expanding our capacity to combat climate change, improve public health, and address conflict and fragility in the pursuit of ending poverty and advancing prosperity," she added. The takeaway: Rhetoric matters — a lot. People already had been criticizing the bank for being relatively slow to stop financing fossil fuels and start financing more clean energy projects in developing countries, but Malpass' gaffe cast the institution in a much dimmer light. Names to replace him are swirling, Karl Mathiesen and Zack Colman report. Some of the more familiar are U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry, former Vice President Al Gore and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg — all of whom criticized Malpass' handling of climate, Bloomberg as recently as last week. Others include Minouche Shafik, who recently accepted a job to become Columbia University’s president; Daleep Singh, who was deputy national security adviser for international economics under President Joe Biden; World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; and former U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Raj Shah, who now leads the Rockefeller Foundation.   A message from Panasonic: Deepening our commitment to sustainability. Learn more about Panasonic’s green impact.   Sustainable Finance FLOOD WARNINGS — How much information is too much? Some Indiana homeowners and developers have limited appetite for accurate flood maps, Tom Frank reports for POLITICO's E&E News. A bill moving through the Indiana Legislature is pitting property values against climate adaptation. It could let local officials ignore the state's flood maps — a change that experts say would undermine Indiana’s innovative use of new flood-mapping technology to reduce damage. “We are getting a lot of concerns expressed from folks throughout our districts,” the sponsor, state Sen. Jean Leising (R), said at a recent legislative hearing. “None of us want to see anybody build where they’re going to be flooded. But I don’t want to see people’s property devalued.” Meanwhile, as Tom also reports, Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater on Wednesday endorsed giving homebuyers information about the flood risk of prospective properties, saying the policy could drive down prices of some houses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is considering requiring states to mandate flood disclosure during real estate sales, though Khater said he wasn't commenting on the FEMA proposal.   A message from Panasonic:   WASHINGTON WATCH TESLA TRUCE — Tesla and the Biden administration seem destined to never be on the same page, politically. One day after President Joe Biden said he had secured a commitment from Elon Musk’s company to make its massive electric vehicle charging network public, the automaker fired dozens of workers at the factory that makes components for those chargers, Scott Waldman reports for POLITICO's E&E News. The dismissal of more than 30 employees would appear to be incongruent with the president's efforts to elevate union workers as a pillar of the nation's wide-ranging transition to clean energy. The firings came two days after workers at the Tesla gigafactory in Buffalo, N.Y., said they had begun an effort to unionize in response to poor working conditions. Discussions between the White House and Musk — a frequent Biden critic — over EV charging were widely seen as a thaw in tensions. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stopped short of criticizing Musk during a briefing with reporters Thursday, while pointedly defending workers.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     AROUND THE WORLD REPAIR OR REPLACE — The European Union is mulling rules to make it easier to repair products rather than throw them out and replace them with new ones, but industry is pushing back, Louise Guillot reports. The European Commission is set to present its long-awaited right-to-repair proposal next month. Regulators want to encourage more repairs than are happening under the current rules, which let consumers choose between having the seller repair or replace a defective product. Trade groups are arguing that replacement is sometimes more sustainable. “In some cases, replacement and adequate recycling can have a lower environmental footprint and can therefore present an equally viable option,” said Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, director general of Digital Europe, a group representing tech companies in Brussels. Companies are particularly expressing concern that Brussels could choose to mandate that companies must favor repair over replacement within a product’s two-year legal warranty period. YOU TELL US  GAME ON — Happy Friday! Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com. Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free. That’s sustainability!   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.     WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — While Ford struggles with legacy business problems complicating its path to becoming an EV leader, Tesla is recalling more than 360,000 vehicles to fix flaws in its self-driving software. — Colorado lawmakers are considering a plan to store carbon in defunct mines and wells, the Associated Press reports. — Even with the finance industry’s embrace of sustainable investing under siege, having a job title with ESG in it is proving protective against Wall Street layoffs, according to Bloomberg.   A message from Panasonic: Panasonic is helping lead the changes necessary to address the climate crisis. Here’s how: From creating more sustainable business practices, products and solutions to helping our customers integrate sustainable technologies in their projects. Learn More     Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman Allison Prang @AllisonPrang   Follow us

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