World Bank to stop funding oil and gas projects

The World Bank has pledged to stop financing oil and gas projects after 2019. The announcement was made at the One Planet Summit in France earlier this week as part […]

The World Bank has pledged to stop financing oil and gas projects after 2019.

The announcement was made at the One Planet Summit in France earlier this week as part of its plans for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement’s goals.

However, in exceptional circumstances, consideration will be given to financing upstream gas in the poorest countries “where there is a clear benefit in terms of energy access for the poor” and the project fits within the nations’ Paris climate commitments.

The World Bank has also committed to reporting greenhouse gas emissions from the investment projects it finances in key emissions-producing sectors such as energy from next year.

The results will be published late next year and annually thereafter.

The Bank said it will continue to support investments highlighted at the Summit, including accelerating energy efficiency in India and scaling up solar energy in Ethiopia, Pakistan and Senegal among other countries.

It also plans to establish a West Africa Coastal Areas investment platform and introduce the City Resilience Platform so up to 500 cities will have access to finance for resilience to climate change.

Latest Podcast