Explicit mention of human rights obligations has long been a taboo subject at the World Bank.
Energy
Infrastructure
News
MIGA’s support for gas projects raises concerns about its climate credentials
World Bank’s commercial insurance arm provided nearly $850 million in guarantees for gas projects in Bangladesh and Mozambique in fiscal year 2022.
Infrastructure
News
Indonesia JETP's promotion of renewable energy privatisation opposed by unions and civil society
Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Partnership bears the clear handprint of the World Bank’s private-sector led approach to power sectors in the Global South, creating opposition from unions and civil society.
Infrastructure
Analysis
World Bank and IMF influence casts shadow over South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership
World Bank’s support for fossil fuel projects, including problem-riddled Medupi coal power station, leaves its reputation in tatters with South African civil society.
Finance
News
Restart of Pakistan’s IMF loan agreement collapses with change in government, as soaring costs of IFC-supported LNG add to fiscal pain
Pakistan increases fuel prices in effort to meet IMF conditions, while cost of importing LNG surges.
Infrastructure
News
Nigerian CSO denounces increase in energy tariffs linked to World Bank-backed reforms
World Bank’s backed energy reforms in Nigeria set to raise electricity prices further despite amid Covid-19 pandemic.
Infrastructure
Analysis
World Bank announces support for CCUS in Nigeria despite criticisms it reinforces fossil fuel dependence
World Bank trust fund ESMAP will provide support for domestic market, while IFC will support private sector investment in CCUS.
Infrastructure
News
World Bank technical assistance and policy lending lead to Jamaica gas lock-in
Bank support facilitated $1 billion in private investment in LNG on the island, despite the green credentials of natural gas being widely debunked.
Infrastructure
Analysis
World Bank must ensure new Africa energy strategy is inclusive and pro-poor
The Bank’s new Africa energy strategy offers it an important chance to mainstream achieving SDG7 into its energy lending on the continent.
Environment
News
EIB rules out most fossil fuel funding from 2021, setting new benchmark for MDBs
New energy policy sees European Investment Bank end support for unabated coal, oil and gas from 2021.
Featured briefings
1 October 2024
Year one of World Bank Paris Agreement alignment in the energy sector: ‘green conditionality’ dwarfs green investments
New BWP research finds the Word Bank's approach to Paris alignment is being used to a significant extent to impose ‘green conditionalities' on borrowing countries, especially in the Global South.
3 July 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Summer 2024
3 July 2024
Is the World Bank rolling back commitments to citizen engagement, again?
Understanding the Bank’s chequered history with public, community and civil society participation is key for understanding what is at stake and what to do next.