Energy: World Bank Fine Tunes Clean Energy Funding Proposal

WASHINGTON - A World Bank proposal to its steering committee to create two new funds to help developing countries generate cleaner, more efficient power is misguided because it backs fossil fuel projects, experts said on Monday, as reported in Reuters/Planet Ark.

A copy of the report obtained by Reuters argued that current financing from multilateral lenders like the World Bank as well as governments and the private sector "cannot lead to a meaningful transition to a low-carbon economy."
A World Bank official declined to say whether the proposed Clean Energy Financing Vehicle low-interest loans and the Clean Energy Support Fund grants correspond to British finance minister Gordon Brown's call in April for a seed fund of US$20 billion for clean energy to invest in alternative energy.

The proposed Clean Energy Financing Vehicle calls for an initial capitalization of US$10 billion, the report said.

The two funding ideas endorse low-carbon technologies and carbon emission reductions and were drafted after an original April report. They go to World Bank directors for review on Aug. 29 ahead of next month's annual meeting in Singapore.

Read the complete, exclusive story here: World Bank

Categories: energy, climatechange, worldbank, policy