<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/world-bank-abandons-climate-lending-goal-under-pressure-from-largest-shareholder-trumps-us/>
"The World Bank Group says it will “retire” its previous goal to devote 45 per
cent of its annual lending resources to projects with climate co-benefits, but
extend its longstanding
Climate Change Action Plan.
The development lender, which had been under pressure from the Trump
administration to abandon the climate lending target adopted during the Biden
administration in 2023, said in a statement on Monday it would complete a shift
to focusing on lending outcomes rather than input goals.
World Bank President Ajay Banga, who was initially charged with squeezing more
climate lending resources from the bank’s balance sheet, has shifted his focus
to “smart development,” which aims to boost job opportunities while still
providing climate-related benefits such as drought-resistant agriculture or
storm-resistant infrastructure and renewable energy where appropriate.
The World Bank said that at the request of its executive board, the lender’s
Independent Evaluation Group would perform a review of the
Climate Change
Action Plan, which was first adopted in rolling five-year plans in 2016.
The bank’s previous target of devoting 35 per cent of lending resources to
climate-related projects also was dropped, but bank officials have said that
demand for projects with climate co-benefits remains strong from client
countries.
Executive directors including France and 18 other shareholding countries had
signed a letter in October endorsing the bank’s continued work on climate
change, but the largest shareholder, the United States, declined to sign,
along with executive directors representing Russia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,
while India and Japan abstained."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
