Kerry: Taking ‘Some Risk’ to Ensure Green Transition Is the ‘Job’ of Multilateral Banks

During an interview with CNN International aired on Wednesday’s “First Move,” Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry stated that the job of multilateral development banks is to “take some risk” in order to spur the private sector to make the “trillions of dollars” that are needed to bring about the transition to green energy available and that President Joe Biden and every other nation he has talked to want to make changes to these banks.

Kerry said, “President Biden is committed to sensible reform of the multilateral development banks. And every country I’ve talked to right now is encouraging us and other shareholders to come together and try to effect some transformation. But we’re not asking those banks to suddenly go become the riskiest financial institutions in the world. We’re simply trying to point out that their job is to occasionally mitigate risk or take some risk and make it possible for the private sector to bring the trillions of dollars to the table necessary to effect this transition.”

He also stated, “The cost of not doing things to meet the targets the scientists have given us is far more costly than any investment in doing this now. So, we need to put some money on the table and make it happen.”

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