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World Bank announces major increase in financing helping combat climate change

The World Bank Group announces a major increase in the Bank Group’s financing to help countries combat climate change by building low carbon and resilient development.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim yesterday announced a major increase in the Bank Group’s financing to help countries combat climate change by building low carbon and resilient development.

The Bank’s President has announced the institution will increase its climate financing to potentially $29 billion a year by 2020, with the support of its members.

The announcement came at a special meeting of finance ministers from around the globe, hosted by France and Peru, on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group-IMF in Lima, Peru.

And it comes just about two months before this year’s COP21 conference in Paris, the international climate talks. In Paris, countries are expected to agree on negotiated text to work on financing issues, including the 2009 Copenhagen commitment for $100 billion a year for developing countries by 2020.

The Lima meeting, the first and last meeting of finance ministers ahead of Paris, saw real progress towards meeting that goal with all multilateral development banks making commitments on financing.

Ahead of Paris, countries have been lodging their national plans to tackle climate change – with the plans officially called the Intended Nationally determined Contributions (INDCs). Those national plans spell out countries’ efforts to bring down greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a rapidly changing climate.

And they clearly signal developing countries’ need for more resources to help address the challenges of climate change.

Ahead of the Paris talks, the Bank Group has called on leaders to show real political ambition, saying the meeting represents a critical opportunity to galvanize political will for urgent action.

“We need a strong Paris agreement with a financial package. We believe there is a credible pathway to provide developing countries with $100 billion a year promised in climate financing by 2020,” said the Bank Group’s Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, Rachel Kyte. “Much of that $100 billion is already flowing with the multilateral development banks – including the World Bank Group – playing a key role.”

Source: World Bank release

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