WASHINGTON, Dec 21, 2020 —The World Bank Group today announced an ambitious target for 35% of its financing to have climate co-benefits, on average, over the next five years. It replaces an earlier target of reaching 28% by 2020, which was in place over the last 5 years. The World Bank – IBRD and IDA – will also seek to ensure that 50% of this financing supports adaptation and resilience. These are two of several announcements about the Bank Group’s commitment to helping developing countries address climate change and adapt to its mounting impacts.
World Bank Group President David Malpass will participate in the virtual Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, December 12, co-hosted by the United Nations, the United Kingdom and France, in partnership with Chile and Italy, to discuss the Bank Group’s activities and commitments.
“Climate change presents critical challenges to our development efforts,” said David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group. “The poorer countries suffer most from climate events – including flooding, droughts and food insecurity. In addition to increasing our climate financing, we’re working to achieve country outcomes that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a successful transition to lower-carbon development.”
The Bank Group is already the biggest multilateral funder of climate investments in developing countries. The co-benefits target of 28% by 2020 was established as part of the Bank Group’s First Climate Change Action Plan, covering 2016-2020. The new 35% average co-benefits target will be embedded in the Second Climate Change Action Plan, which will cover 2021-2025.
Between 2016 and 2020, Bank Group institutions – the World Bank, IFC, and MIGA – provided over $83 billion in climate finance to developing countries. This translated into adding 34 GW of renewable energy and improving access to hydromet data and early warning systems for millions of people in over 50 countries, among other good development outcomes. Last year also saw the largest amount of climate investments in the Bank Group’s history.
The Bank Group is working to help countries monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Through its programs, it is committed to helping countries meet their climate and development goals, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, reduced reliance on coal, and a strong, green, climate-resilient recovery.