Bangladesh, Nov. 1 -- In a major policy shift that could reshape global development priorities, the United States has called on the World Bank to abandon its disproportionate focus on climate change and return to its founding mission: ending poverty. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the appeal this week, criticizing the institution for devoting nearly half of its financing to climate projects – a staggering 45 percent – and urging it instead to invest in projects that “increase access to affordable and reliable energy, reduce poverty and boost growth.”

The message is clear and long overdue. The World Bank was not created to become a global climate fund. Established at the end of the Second World War, it wa...