New BWP briefing finds the World Bank counted 70 per cent of energy-sector reforms in Development Policy Financing as having 'climate co-benefits' between 2018-2023 - but most of these promoted a private-led energy transition.
Infrastructure
IFI governance
Background
Mission 300: The high-stakes pursuit of energy transition in Africa
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum session on 25 April 2025, titled "Mission 300: The high-stakes pursuit of energy transition in Africa"
Accountability
News
IFC ends investment in waste-to-energy incineration projects in Gujarat, India, following civil society campaign
While IFC’s withdrawal is welcome, civil society urges the Bank to stop funding WTE projects and move towards zero-waste solutions instead.
Environment
News
Trump election may add pressure to reverse World Bank’s prohibition on support for nuclear power
Donald Trump’s election may result in a revision of World Bank’s long-standing prohibition of support to nuclear power.
Infrastructure
News
World Bank’s Mission 300: a path to power, for whom?
Bank's focus on attracting private investment through energy privatisation raises concerns, as it puts private profits over sustainable energy systems, burdening governments with debt and making electricity less affordable for citizens.
Accountability
News
World Bank’s lack of meaningful consultation leaves Chiquitano Indigenous Peoples in Bolivia with no recourse
World Bank fails in its commitment to accountability by disregarding communities’ participation all the way through project design, implementation and resulting remedy plans.
Infrastructure
News
Banga calls energy access a ‘human right’ as he announces World Bank will provide access for 250 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030
Explicit mention of human rights obligations has long been a taboo subject at the World Bank.
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.
Environment
Analysis
Coal not yet confined to the “old days” by World Bank Group
Despite the World Bank’s commitment to move away from funding coal, a series of loopholes in its financial intermediary lending remain that will continue to allow finance to support coal power projects.
Featured briefings
9 June 2025
New data reveal World Bank DPF ‘climate finance’ carries strong private sector bias, undermining a just transition
New BWP briefing finds the World Bank counted 70 per cent of energy-sector reforms in Development Policy Financing as having 'climate co-benefits' between 2018-2023 - but most of these promoted a private-led energy transition.
15 April 2025
The Bretton Woods Observer: Spring 2025
2 April 2025