Multilateral Development Banks must urgently align with the Paris Agreement

Recourse urges Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to stop all direct and indirect fossil fuel financing and to commit to ambitious climate finance targets at COP26. The statement argues that current pledges, such as the MDBs' $175 billion commitment by 2025, are inadequate. It specifically criticizes the World Bank for promoting gas as a transition fuel through Development Policy Finance, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for a portfolio where fossil fuel spending nearly doubles renewable energy spending, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for approving nearly $5 billion in gas project financing since the Paris Agreement. Recourse also calls for the World Bank to match the African Development Bank's pledge of 75 million new off-grid connections by 2025 to address energy deficits in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Recourse demands that MDBs align all financing with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal, which necessitates the exclusion of any activities that increase the extraction, processing, transportation, or combustion of coal, oil, and fossil gas, including infrastructure like transmission lines that facilitate fossil fuel expansion.
• The World Bank's Development Policy Finance (DPF) is criticized for promoting gas as a transition fuel and supporting energy sector reforms that provide investment to companies still building new coal-fired power stations.
• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has a portfolio where fossil fuel spending is almost double that of renewable energy spending, with its energy portfolio in Bangladesh since 2016 consisting entirely of fossil fuels.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved nearly $5 billion for gas projects since the Paris Agreement was adopted, despite the fact that gas emissions contribute significantly to global CO2 increases.
• To address the fact that 85 percent of the 620 million people estimated to remain without energy access in 2030 will be in Sub-Saharan Africa, Recourse urges the World Bank to match the African Development Bank's pledge of 75 million new off-grid connections by 2025.

APA

rrotadmin (2021). Multilateral Development Banks must urgently align with the Paris Agreement. Recourse. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/cop26-multilateral-development-banks-must-urgently-align-with-the-paris-agreement/

Chicago

rrotadmin. Multilateral Development Banks must urgently align with the Paris Agreement. Recourse, 2021. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/cop26-multilateral-development-banks-must-urgently-align-with-the-paris-agreement/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=rrotadmin |title=Multilateral Development Banks must urgently align with the Paris Agreement |publisher=Recourse |date=1 November 2021 |url=https://re-course.org/newsupdates/cop26-multilateral-development-banks-must-urgently-align-with-the-paris-agreement/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{rrotadmin2021multilateral, author = {rrotadmin}, title = {{Multilateral Development Banks must urgently align with the Paris Agreement}}, publisher = {Recourse}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://re-course.org/newsupdates/cop26-multilateral-development-banks-must-urgently-align-with-the-paris-agreement/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }