A We want the IDB to be more relevant and proof of this is last year’s lending of more than $9bn. In no other year in the bank’s history have we had this level of lending without emergency assistance. At the same time [last year], we began focusing on issues related to climate change and sustainable development, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and [also] continued programmes in traditional social areas, such as education, and water and sanitation in basic infrastructure.
Q Since you became head of the IDB, the bank has begun vigorously supporting the expansion of biofuel production in Latin America as a way to combat climate change. But scientists now question the environmental merits of biofuels, and several UN agencies say biofuels are contributing to world food shortages and price increases, and even the reappearance of hunger in countries such as Mexico. What is your comment?
