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The increased role for multilateral development banks (MDBs) in the new climate finance goal agreed at COP29 provides rich countries with an opportunity to dodge their responsibilities.

World Bank President Ajay Banga announced a significant commitment to increase climate finance available through Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) for low- and middle-income countries, aiming for a total of $120 billion by 2030. Banga also joined global calls for the Climate Finance Goal (NCQG) to ensure that countries receive adequate resources to address the escalating costs of the climate crisis.

As the 2024 World Bank Annual Meetings draw to a close, the World Bank Group’s journey to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet continues. With COP29 around the corner, “climate finance” are the words on everyone’s lips. The role of the Bank in this remains a key focus.

The IFIs and the MDBs are not fit for purpose to be part of the climate finance solution for the climate crisis. We are demanding change.

There is no cause for celebration: One year on from their commitment to Paris Alignment, MDBs have collectively poured $17bn directly into fossil fuels.

Open letter to the World Bank Group (WBG): it’s been one year since the WBG launched its Paris alignment approach, but civil society organisations remain concerned.   

Big Shift Global Statement: The African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual meetings concluded in Nairobi with a commitment to massively scale-up Africa’s renewable energy generation capacity.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is holding its AGM from the 2nd to 5th May in Tblisi, Georgia. Members and allies of Big Shift are there to ensure messages from civil society urging the Bank to end fossil finance are heard.

The World Bank Spring Meetings have concluded, and climate finance has been front and centre of discussions, yet evidence suggests that despite big promises, the Bank is continuing to finance fossil fuel projects.

COP28 signals that the end of the fossil fuel era has begun. For the multilateral development banks (MDBs), the final text reiterates the message that they have a significant role to play in the transition away from fossil fuels.

Our joint petition with 350.org, signed by over 40,000, outlined priority areas for the World Bank on shifting from fossil fuels to renewables. Big Shift Global members from Don't Gas Africa and Recourse speak on Ajay Banga's refusal to accept the petition. 

11 October, Marrakech - The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are taking place this week in Marrakech against the backdrop of record breaking temperatures in Morocco  

At his first Annual Meetings as president, Ajay Banga, has the potential to be a fresh breeze from the previous climate denying president David Malpass.  But Banga must prove himself and the direction of the bank.

The Africa Climate Summit was the time for urgent and bold action to tackle issues of energy access. Big Shift partners and allies respond to the outcome.

The Paris PACT Summit taking place from 22-23 June comes at a critical moment. Global leaders, international institutions, and solidarity actors need to act now to meet the 1.5°C limit and ensure a just transition.

In recent years, the World Bank has become a laggard on climate, holding back the process of joint MDB Paris alignment and continuing to pump billions into fossil fuels. Will new President Ajay Banga turn this around?

As the AfDB meets for its annual meeting, top of the agenda should be energy access in Africa and ensuring a just energy transition. Gas is not the solution.

Almost five years after the MDBs committed to align with the Paris Agreement, in March 2023, the World Bank finally published the instrument notes for their Paris alignment methodology. So far, the Bank’s response to Paris alignment has lacked assurance for many.

The World Bank Group’s (WBG) Roadmap aims to respond to new global challenges. Big Shift member, Recourse asks, how can the roadmap proposal not mention Paris alignment to keep global warming below 1.5C or fossil fuels? 

The joint statement by the ten major multilateral development banks (MDBs) released today at COP27 once again missed the mark as it failed to provide specific details on how the MDBs will align their financial flows with a 1.5°C pathway.

Open letter from the Big Shift Global Coalition on the 1.5°C pathway: Raising ambition in the Joint Multilateral Development Bank Paris alignment framework

"Investing in Climate Disaster” Report by the Big Shift Global finds World Bank has Given $14.8 Billion to Fossil Fuels Since the Paris Agreement, Largely Under Beleaguered President David Malpass.

Climate change organisations under the Big Shift Coalition have called on the World Bank to fire its President David Malpass.

Big Shift Global organised a side event on World Bank gas finance as part of the Civil Society Policy Forum during the World Bank Spring Meetings 2022. Watch the recording of the event.

At COP26, almost 40 countries and institutions launched a joint statement committing to end direct international public finance for unabated fossil fuels by the end of 2022. As these signatories are also the majority MDB shareholders, MDBs may soon be forced to end their fossil fuel finance. 

Yesterday afternoon the ten major multilateral development banks (MDBs) published their COP26 statement updating progress towards their joint commitment to Paris Alignment. Though the group of banks first committed in 2017 to a process to align their financial flows with a 1.5°C pathway and later pledged to complete this by 2020, yesterday’s statement provided few new details, posed no limits on fossil fuel support, and left timelines unclear.

As publicly-funded development banks, MDBs should become agents of transformative change, pushing for a green, just and resilient development model. For that, they need to scale up financing for sustainable, green development, help countries in pursuing equitable, low-carbon transitions, and end all support for fossil fuels. 

A new report by Big Shift member, Urgewald released this week tells the story of how the World Bank’s public assistance is behind the on-going development of Asia’s largest coal field – Pakistan’s Thar coal field and associated new coal power plants.

Today, the World Bank Group released its new Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) for 2021-2025. The CCAP represents a colossal failure to end the Bank’s long-standing support for fossil fuels.

The Bank has also rejected requests from civil society and World Bank shareholders for a public consultation on a full draft of the plan. The World Bank’s press release notes the Bank, “will regularly update its Board on the implementation of the Action Plan,” without providing further details of what aspects of the plan it will report on.

In a letter sent today, 153 organizations and academics across six continents called on the World Bank Group President David Malpass and WBG leadership to immediately adopt a whole-of-institution commitment to end all types of support for fossil fuels, including gas. The letter comes as the WBG prepares to publish its new Climate Change Action Plan.

Recently elected US President Joe Biden has promised action to combat climate change. On the first day of his presidency, he announced, ‘we’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis’.

Five years ago, negotiators were celebrating the adoption of the Paris Agreement. An agreement to unite global efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Today, the fight for these global efforts continues as we witness the impact of climate change on frontline communities and the importance of fighting for climate justice for those who have contributed least to this crisis but who are suffering some of the worst impacts.

The Finance in Common Summit brought together over 420 public development banks (PDBs) including the multilateral development banks (MDBs) as well as regional and national development banks. Given the PDBs’ mandate for environmentally sustainable development, collaboration between these banks should have had the potential to catalyse investments and build momentum towards the achievement of the SDGs and the climate and biodiversity goals. 

The Finance in Common Summit, next week, will be the first ever meeting of all 450 public development banks including the Multilateral Development Banks as well as regional and national development banks from across the globe. The summit takes place on the 11th and 12th November and is organised by the AFD (French Development Agency), with the backing of President Macron and UN Secretary General Gutteres.

The World Bank Annual meetings which took place virtually last week, saw calls from Big Shift Coalition members and many others for the bank to green its COVID-19 response, to stop funding fossil fuels and contribute to building the world we want.

Read on for an overview of Big Shift actions around the meetings and an overview of some of the outcomes.

Nezir Sinani of Recourse (a member of the Big Shift Global campaign) writes about how the World Bank continues to prioritise fossil fuels and how it is failing to bring people out of fuel poverty in countries where Recourse and other Big Shift members have carried out research.

The Big Shift campaign is urging the World Bank to take bold decisions during its 2020 Annual Meetings to ensure the spending of public money as part of the COVID recovery is not making the climate crisis worse but ensuring a green, sustainable just recovery for all. The choices made now will have an impact for years to come.

Congratulations to Odette Renaud-Basso as the new president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the first woman to hold the permanent presidency of a major multilateral development bank.

With the start of this new presidency, members of the Big Shift Global Coalition have high expectations for the EBRD to become a truly green bank.

The decision about who will be the next candidate of the EBRD is due in October.

Whoever becomes president of the EBRD must lead the bank quickly and decisively to act on climate change and energy access for all.

There are three candidates in the running for the Presidency of the EBRD: Odile Renaud-Basso of France, Pier Carlo Padoan of Italy and Tadeusz Kościński of Poland. We want to hear from the candidates about how they will lead the bank on climate and energy access.

September marks two months until the Finance in Common Summit - the first ever meeting of all 450 public development banks. Development banks that hold $11.2 trillion in public assets. With huge amounts of public money being spent as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, decisions made now, including during the summit, about how to use these funds must include the acceleration of a sustainable, just recovery.

The World Bank Group (WBG) recognizes climate change as a threat to global development that increases instability and contributes to poverty, fragility, and migration. In response to this challenge, in 2016 the WBG launched the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), which established general objectives for 2020 to create policies that strengthen resilience to the impacts of the climate change and the promote decarbonization, while alleviating poverty.

African CSOs, led by Big Shift Global member, ACSEA have sent a letter to the World Bank welcoming the Banks's new LEAP energy proposal but calling for more ambitious targets,  increased investment in energy access and greater consultation with those it will impact.  

Anna Östergren of SSNC and Nezir Sinani of Recourse have published a blog summarising the findings of their latest report, written with ACSEA, on the World Bank's energy and climate performance in Nigeria.

A Paris-aligned and just recovery to Covid-19 by the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) is a vital part of the global response. On 28th May, members of  the Big Shift Global Coalition organised a webinar to discuss this further with 4 panellists: Bronwen Tucker, OCI; Dileimy Orozco, E3G; Augustine Njamnshi, ACSEA and Andrew Scott, ODI, moderated by Vibeka Mair of Responsible Investor.

Africa Day is on 25 May. Big Shift Global member, the African Climate Reality Project has a tradition of using this day to amplify the call for a fossil free, low-carbon, and climate resilient future for the continent.

They have published an open letter calling on the African Development Bank to stop funding fossil fuels and shift to 100% renewables.

A coalition of faith-based organisations in the United States have launched a campaign  in support of Big Shift,  calling on the World Bank to end all support for fossil fuels and shift investment to renewable energy access in the time of COVID-19 and beyond.

Eugene N Nforngwa, Thematic Lead for Just Transition and Energy Access at the Pan-African Climate and Environmental Justice Alliance (PACJA) and Programmes Advisor at the Africa Coalition for Sustainable Energy and Access (ACSEA) presents why renewable energy and just recovery are vital in the Covid-19 recovery planning process in Africa

Andrew Schwartz, Deputy Director at Center for Earth Ethics outlines how the response to the coronavirus crisis must increase resilience and minimise climate change by shifting funding from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Shortly before the World Bank holds its digital Spring Meeting, the NGO Urgewald and partner civil society organizations have sent a letter to Executive Directors to express concerns with the bank’s involvement in Guyana’s oil & gas development.

The global response to the coronavirus crisis continues to gather pace and emergency responses supporting health services and economies are vital at this stage for many across the globe. Just like the Covid-19 crisis, the impacts of climate change will be felt more acutely by the poorest and most vulnerable people. It is vital that the stimulus packages supported by MDBs address this and respond to both crises.

At COP25 in Madrid, Spain the nine multilateral development banks (MDBs) provided a public update on their joint commitment to Paris Alignment. Though the group of banks first committed to a process to align their financial flows with a 1.5°C pathway in 2017, yesterday's announcement provided few new details. 

As COP25 in Madrid begins, the Big Shift coalition calls on the Multilateral Development Banks to align their finance with the 2015 Paris Agreement, increase their investments in renewable energy and stop financing fossil fuels and ensure they present a detailed approach and report on their progress.