Dr Akihiko Nishio
Vice President for Development Finance, World Bank
The climate crisis, poverty and inequality are the defining issues of our age. We must tackle them together to make progress on our mission of reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
1 The climate crisis is a deeply unfair one: the poorest people in the world contribute the least to it, but they are hardest hit by its impacts. More than 130 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty over the next decade due to the impacts of our changing climate.
2 The World Bank Group is today the largest financier of climate action in developing countries. Between 2016 and 2021, the World Bank Group delivered over USD 109 billion in climate finance. We intend to provide over USD 25 billion on average annually from 2021–25 for initiatives that reduce emissions and foster adaptation, while reducing poverty and inequality and improving development outcomes.
More than 130 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty over the next decade due to the impacts of our changing climate.
3 We are helping the world’s poorest countries—members of the International Development Association (IDA)—transition to clean energy at scale, build resilience and adapt to a changing climate. At least 50% of our climate finance will support adaptation.
4 Tackling the climate crisis requires major social, economic and technological changes. We support countries to move away from coal; invest in disaster risk management; restore nature; manage water; make food systems more sustainable and productive; invest in sustainable transport; and build clean, green and resilient cities.
5 We are putting people and communities at the heart of our support for climate action. Through investments in social protection, access to health care and financial inclusion, we build the resilience of families and local businesses while ensuring a just transition so that no one is left behind.