World Bank will stop financing oil, gas projects

PARIS - The World Bank (WB) on Tuesday announced it would suspend financing after 2019 the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas to encourage the global efforts to switch to clean economies and curb global warming.

As part of the international lender's support to developing countries for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement's goals, the WB said it "will no longer finance upstream oil and gas, after 2019."

Meanwhile, "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 countries' Paris Agreement commitments," it added.

The World Bank targets to devote 28 percent of its lending to climate action by 2020 by supporting investment in connection with energy transition.

Via its private sector-arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the bank planned earlier this year in partnership with Amundi, Europe's largest asset manager, to invest up to 325 million US dollars in the Green Cornerstone Bond Fund, "largest ever green-bond fund dedicated to emerging markets" to expand and unlock private funding for climate-related project.

The World Bank on Tuesday organized jointly with France and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a one-day summit here to incite wealthy countries and private sector to further raise funds to help implement Paris climate accord.

On Dec 12, 2015, a total of 196 parties to the UNFCCC reached the historic Paris Agreement on climate change to cut greenhouse gas emissions and set a global target of keeping the average temperature rise in their countries no higher than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The agreement also saw developed countries commit to contribute 100 billion US dollars a year from 2020 to mitigate climate change impacts in developing countries.