World Bank boss makes U-turn on his ‘regrettable’ climate comments after Al Gore called for his ousting

‘I’m not a scientist,’ David Malpass told an audience earlier this week when asked directly if burning fossil fuels was causing climate crisis

The World Bank president appears to have heeded mounting calls for his resignation and made a U-turn after he refused to say that the climate crisis was real.

During a New York Times event on Tuesday, David Malpass, a nominee of former president Donald Trump, obfuscated when asked if he accepted scientific evidence that the worsening climate crisis was caused by humanity burning fossil fuels.

He was asked point-blank about his views hours after Al Gore, the climate activist and former vice president, described Mr Malpass as a “climate denier” during a panel. Mr Gore called for President Joe Biden to remove Mr Malpass from his post and criticized the bank for continuing to provide capital to fossil fuel companies for work in developing countries.