The World Bank Group says it is helping people in developing countries better withstand the devastation of climate change and create a better world for their children and grandchildren.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Bank on Friday, December 1, 2023, after announcing an ambitious financing package at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, in Dubai.
The statement said the World Bank was pushing to do more to battle climate change and do it faster.
According to the statement, the bank will devote 45 per cent of its annual financing to climate-related projects for the fiscal year that runs from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
“This increased ambition is more than just a laudable percentage, it’s putting to work more than $40 billion, around $9 billion more than previously programmed.
“In 2021, the bank announced a goal to reach an average of 35 per cent by 2025 and is currently ahead of schedule, running at an average of 36.3 per cent since July 2022.”
It said in October, the World Bank secured an ambitious and expanded mandate to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.
“The new climate pledge is a concrete example of the bank delivering on that mandate.”
The statement said in addition to boosting resilience and adaptation among those hardest hit by the effects of climate change, the bank’s project would also focus on safeguarding ecosystems and biodiversity.
“This is to help protect the health of people and the planet.”
It said having pledged to squeeze more from its balance sheet to fund the fight against climate change, the bank would continue to deliver on adaptation to help countries devastated by climate shocks.
“The bank will also focus on mitigation to help reduce the greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.”
By Okeoghene Akubuike
