Climate and human rights activists have criticised the World Bank’s strategy for aligning its investments with the Paris Agreement, accusing it of “fuelling the fire” of the climate crisis and failing to shift money away from fossil fuels.
The new guidance does not comply with the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global warming to 1.5°C, according to Recourse, an NGO that works on the environment and human rights records of major financial institutions.
Despite the IPCC’s AR6 Synthesis Report, published on Monday, blaming climate change on the burning of all fossil fuels, the group said the World Bank’s approach to aligning Development Policy Financing only excludes support for coal.
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Recourse described the World Bank’s refusal to stop funding fossil gas as “beyond belief” and called on the Bank to prioritise finance for sustainable renewable energy.
The campaign manager at Recourse, Fran Witt, said: “Sadly, the World Bank’s new guidance is far from transformational. Continuing to provide funding, guarantees and policy support for fossil fuels is simply fuelling the fire of the climate crisis.
“While there are some positive moves in this new guidance, it is beyond belief that the World Bank’s definition of ‘low carbon’ allows so much space for fossil gas expansion and dangerous false solutions like Carbon Capture and Storage. In light of the IPCC’s stark warning that we have one last chance to limit global warming to 1.5oC, this was a historic opportunity for the Bank, but these documents suggest that opportunity has been missed.”
Story was adapted from Enviro News
