Former vice president Al Gore, who had also called Mr. Malpass a climate denier and campaigned for his removal, said in a statement that his departure “must be the first step toward true reform that places the climate crisis at the center of the bank’s work.”
While critics said Mr. Malpass wasn’t moving fast enough, he had been making an effort in recent months to step up. Last month, the bank produced a document known as the “evolution road map,” that outlined how it could do more to help countries facing disasters being made worse by a warming planet and other threats.
He also oversaw a growing portfolio of loans designed to help countries adapt to climate change and transition to renewable power. In November, for example, the bank agreed to lend South Africa $440 million to help convert a coal power plant into one that will run on renewables and batteries.
Janet Yellen, the Treasury secretary, complimented Mr. Malpass in a statement.
“While we all must continue to raise our collective ambitions in the fight against climate change, during President Malpass’ tenure the World Bank has made important recent advances in this area,” she said.
The Treasury Department, which leads the White House’s engagement with the World Bank, will have an influential role in selecting the organization’s next leader. As the bank’s largest shareholder, the United States traditionally selects the president.
“It’s credit to him and to the Biden administration that this appeared to be a gracious exit,” said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, a nonprofit research organization. “I think it was understood clearly that they had a certain preference when it came to the leadership bank and it wasn’t him.”
Possible replacements could include Rajiv Shah, the head of the Rockefeller Foundation; Samantha Power, the head of the United States Agency for International Development; and Indra Nooyi, the former chief executive of PepsiCo; according to global development experts.
