World Bank boosts climate financing by 10%

Around 44% of total financing had a climate financing component

By AFP

Published: Thu 19 Sep 2024, 9:45 PM

The World Bank announced Thursday that it delivered a record $42.6 billion in climate change financing in the 2024 financial year, up 10 per cent from a year earlier.

The development lender has looked to boost its climate financing commitment under new president Ajay Banga, who took over last year on a pledge to reform the 80-year-old Washington-based institution.

In December, the Bank committed to raising the proportion of its total financing that goes to climate change adaptation from 35 per cent to 45 per cent starting in the fiscal 2025 year, which began in July.

Advertising

But it came close to that objective this fiscal year, announcing in a statement on Wednesday that around 44 per cent of the World Bank Group's total financing of $97 billion had a climate financing component.

This figure included lending, along with other financial instruments such as grants and guarantees, a World Bank official told AFP by email.

That financing assisted in "supporting efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, investing in cleaner energy, more resilient communities, and stronger economies," the Bank said, adding that each of its institutions contributed this goal.

"But there is more to do," it added.