The private sector arm of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is to stop supporting new coal projects, a decision described by campaigners as welcome but long overdue.
IFC financing will no longer support new coal, according to an amendment to the organization’s “green equity approach” strategy, which is directed at intermediary clients like commercial banks.
Prior to this change, the policy simply mandated that financial clients cut their exposure in half by 2025 and to zero by 2030.
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Since May 2019, IFC has supported financial intermediaries to the tune of approximately $40 billion, accounting for more than half of its investments.
Over the previous five years, the loophole has led the financial clients of the IFC to underwrite a number of sizeable new coal projects.
The IFC is expected to publish a plan to align its portfolio with the Paris Agreement during next week’s World Bank meetings.
Story was adapted from Climate Home News
