At the COP28 conference, ten of the leading development banks in the world committed to intensifying their climate efforts, but they made no mention of stopping funding for fossil fuel projects.
The World Bank and regional partners will be among the group announcing a statement to be made at the event in Dubai, stating that time is “rapidly closing” to ensure a habitable world.
Although the group disbursed a record $61 billion in financing in 2022, it is still just a small portion of what is needed. Calls to change the way the banks are run in response to the climate problem have increased amid unprecedented catastrophic weather events.
The statement made no specific reference to the issue of rising global emissions, even though UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told world leaders on Friday that the only way to save the planet was to stop using fossil fuels.
Currently, the sole signatory to the so-called “Glasgow Declaration” that has promised to cease funding fossil fuel projects is the European Investment Bank. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity.
In the future, the banks said they will increase the use of analytics to assist nations in identifying priorities and investment opportunities, as well as agree on a uniform method for monitoring and reporting climate impact.
The World Bank would serve as the host of a new, collaborative Long-term Strategies Program that would organize assistance to assist nations and subnational organizations in creating strategies on topics like decarbonization and climate resilience.
In addition, the group promised to support nations in establishing frameworks that will promote a “collectively reinforcing combination” of support, encompassing policy reform, funding, and technical assistance.
The organization said it would consider actions like cutting “distorting” subsidies and creating a pipeline of green projects to draw in more private capital.
The banks intended to increase funding to promote catastrophe risk reduction, readiness for disasters, and capacity building, among other measures, to assist nations in adapting to the effects of climate change.
Additionally, they intended to “strengthen collaboration” in the areas of gender, water, health, and nature.
“Reflecting the urgency and scale of the issues to be addressed, we are boosting our joint action on climate and development, strengthening our collaboration to scale up finance and enhance results measurement, strengthening country-level collaboration, and increasing co-financing and private sector engagement,” the statement said.
