Poznan Declaration: World vs. Bank

A declaration by various international organizations opposing the World Bank's role in the UNFCCC climate regime due to its continued financing of fossil fuels, contribution to deforestation, and undemocratic governance.

• The World Bank Group is characterized as a major climate polluter that has increased its support for fossil fuels, with lending for coal, oil, and gas increasing by 94% in the last year to over $3 billion, and coal lending specifically increasing by 256%. Between 1997 and 2007, the Bank financed 26 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions.
• The World Bank and its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), are accused of driving deforestation through the promotion of industrial logging, agrofuels, soy and oil palm plantations, cattle ranching, and shrimp farming in mangrove forests.
• The document criticizes the World Bank's governance as undemocratic because the United States selects the Bank's president and the 'one dollar-one vote' system marginalizes Southern countries.
• The World Bank's climate initiatives are described as flawed: the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) are seen as undermining UN negotiations and providing loans rather than grants; the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) is criticized for using dubious carbon offsetting; and carbon finance is noted for lacking investment in renewables, with 80% of emissions reduction credits in 2007 going to energy efficiency, primarily a single project in China.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2008). Poznan Declaration: World vs. Bank. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/world-bank.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Poznan Declaration: World vs. Bank. 2008. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/world-bank.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Poznan Declaration: World vs. Bank |date=9 December 2008 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/world-bank.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{friendsoftheearthinternational2008poznan, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Poznan Declaration: World vs. Bank}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2008}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/world-bank.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }