World Bank’s David Malpass Says He Isn’t Resigning Amid Criticism of His Climate Views

The World Bank chief has been under criticism since Tuesday over his response to questions regarding whether burning of fossil fuels has led to rapid and dangerous global warming. At a New York climate event hosted by the

New York Times

he declined to directly answer, saying, “I am not a scientist.”

He has since sought to clarify his positions amid an uproar on social media.

“Look, it’s clear that greenhouse-gas emissions from human activity are adding to, are causing, climate change,” Mr. Malpass said in the Friday interview.

Mr. Malpass acknowledged that he didn’t do his best job in responding to a comment by former Vice President

Al Gore

who called him a “climate denier” at the Tuesday event.

“When asked ‘Are you a climate denier?’ I should have said no,” Mr. Malpass said Friday, while calling Mr. Gore’s comment off topic at a seminar to discuss policy impact. The incident was “unfortunate,” he said, because the World Bank is taking a forceful leadership position to address climate change.

The president of the U.S., by far the largest shareholder of the World Bank, customarily appoints the chief of the World Bank, a Washington-based lender for developing countries. Mr. Trump appointed Mr. Malpass to a five-year term that ends in 2024.

The Trump administration frequently bucked international efforts to reduce carbon emissions, while the Biden administration has made climate policy a priority.

“We expect the World Bank Group to be a global leader of climate ambition and the mobilization of significantly more climate finance for developing countries,” Treasury Department spokesman Michael Kikukawa said, responding to a question about the U.S.’s position on Mr. Malpass’s standing. “We have—and will continue—to make that expectation clear to World Bank leadership.”

Asked by reporters whether Mr. Malpass had the president’s support amid calls for his removal, White House press secretary

Karine Jean-Pierre

said that “removing him requires a majority of shareholders” and reiterated that the administration would continue to press for the World Bank to address climate change.

“Treasury will hold Malpass accountable to this position and support the many staff working to fight climate change at the World Bank,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

Treasury Secretary

Janet Yellen

has met the heads of multilateral financial institutions including the World Bank to press them to increase their climate finance amounts, step up their efforts to assist countries in reducing emissions and better mobilize private capital for climate investments.

—Catherine Lucey and Andrew Duehren contributed to this article.

Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com