Britain's foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, is set to personally take up the UK's seat on the World Bank board, a role usually delegated to a junior minister, in a move signalling that climate action and international development will remain central to UK foreign policy. The decision matters because it comes as the Trump administration pressures the World Bank to step back from climate finance, and other nations have been reluctant to challenge that stance for fear of reprisals amid widespread cuts to overseas aid budgets.

Miliband, a former energy and net zero secretary, said development was "central" rather than an "add-on" to British foreign policy, and that his appointment would send an "unambiguous signal" of the government's commitment. The announcement follows severe wildfires in France, Spain and Scotland's Cairngorms, and near-drought conditions prompting hosepipe bans in England and Wales, after a June heatwave cost European grain farmers an estimated €2bn. It also follows the World Bank's decision last month to scrap its target of directing 45% of its finance to climate-related projects. Experts including Lord Stern and Mohamed Adow of Power Shift Africa welcomed the move, though Miliband will face constraints from a shrinking UK aid budget, which Keir Starmer cut to 0.3% of gross national income.