Habitat Day: Glasgow team, activists want World Bank to release $1trn reserves 

In commemoration of the World Habitat Day, Glasgow Action Team and climate activists, a non-profit organisation has called on World Bank to stop hoarding reserves and mobilise $1 trillion in new green finance.

Glasgow Action Team is a coalition of civil society organisations/ charities working for climate justice.

They also urged them to move away from an extractive model of financing towards delivering a just transition, through investments which benefit people on the poverty line instead of the 1%.

Climate activist, Jake Hess during a press conference via webinar to mark this year’s World Habitat Day with theme “World Bank’s investment in Carbon Capture in Nigeria” further called on World Bank to evaluate impact through the lens of sustainability, equity, justice and actively champion an independent body to restructure sovereign debt.

In his words, “Raise ambitions so that half of all World Bank financing is on climate adaptation and mitigation, given the scale and urgency of the crisis. Candidates for World Bank Leadership should be accountable and committed to scientific evidence.”

According to the team, “the World Bank is a major investor of public money into energy projects and sets the norms for other multilateral lenders and crowds in private finance, so it is essential that those running the World Bank acknowledge the real-world impacts of its funding.

“The World Bank was set up after World War Two to rebuild economies and its stated goals are to end extreme poverty by 2030 and increase prosperity.

“The Bank’s failure to tackle climate change is the latest challenge where the Bank has come short and failed to deliver for low-income countries.

“Since the Paris Agreement, the World Bank has provided $12 billion in direct project finance to fossil fuels projects in 35 countries, more than any other multilateral development bank, according to civil society estimates.

“The figure does not include billions more in support of fossil fuels through financial intermediaries, the biggest culprit being the commercial lending arm of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

“The World Bank is operating with impunity. The vast proportion of the World Bank’s lending and other programme portfolios remain immune from legal action, as does the IMF. This means that its contradictions are not held accountable.

“For example, it continues to invest in fossil fuels which are driving climate change, at the same time as investing in trying to fix the problems caused by climate change, such as investing $10 million into reversing degradation of Lake Chad.

“In Nigeria, a current major concern is that the Bank has announced funding for Carbon Capture and Storage, a controversial and unproven technology that claims to store carbon underground, to ‘help Nigeria reach its emissions targets’, despite criticisms that this techno-fix reinforces fossil fuel dependence.

“The project is geared toward research and piloting. In his speech at the last UN Climate talks, President Buhari announced that Nigeria would become net zero by 2060, saying “the government is looking for partners, technology, and finance to make cleaner and efficient use of all available resources for a more stable transition in energy markets.

“Nigeria’s climate policy heavily relies on so-called ‘carbon sinks’—meaning the country plans to keep burning fossil fuels, but supposedly remove the emissions after they have been produced (presumably through Carbon Capture and Storage and other unrealistic solutions, like planting trees).

“The risk of carbon capture and storage is that it provides a pretext to continue burning fossil fuels instead of switching to clean energy.”

They also pointed that the science is clear on the need to rapidly transit from fossil fuels if there is the will to achieve a safe climate for all.

“Obviously, the fossil fuel industry doesn’t want to do that—so they tell us to give them money for carbon capture instead. Carbon capture is a totally unproven solution.

Other part of their recommendations, was the absolute stoppage of the World Bank from funding fossil fuels projects.

“A Future Fit World Bank must genuinely help to reduce carbon emissions by shifting financing from fossil fuels to renewables and help ensure that new infrastructure benefits local communities and prepares workforces to operate a clean economy.

“To achieve this the Bank must stop using public money to bankroll dirty polluters. Sign the Glasgow Clean Energy statement before the next COP and leave fossil fuels in the ground. Close loopholes allowing private lenders and asset managers to continue extracting and exploiting fossil fuels,” the group said.