In 2016 the World Bank declared that climate change is a threat to their core mission. Current weather extremes already affect millions of people, putting food and water security at risk, and threatening agricultural supply chains and many coastal cities. Without further action to reduce extreme poverty,
provide access to basic services, and strengthen resilience, the World Bank predicts that climate impacts could push an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030 while the world needs to feed nine billion people by 2050, while providing affordable energy access to all, and extend housing and services to two billion new urban dwellers—and to do so while minimizing emissions and boosting resilience. At the most recent Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris, 140 World Bank client countries committed to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as part of an agreement to limit global warming to less than 2°C by 2100, and make best efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. This paper reviews the The World Bank’s Climate Change Action Plan, how the WBG intends to meet these challenges and opportunities, and discusses how recent World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) decisions favor renewable energy projects over oil and gas and are already beginning to impact the prospects for new international oil and gas field developments.

Primary Author/Conference Presenter:
Richard Bost
Lead Engineer and Environmental Expert
i2M Associates, LLC
Waller, TX, USA

website: https://i2mconsulting.com

Co-Author:
Lori Magyar, Auradon Consulting and I2M Associates, Katy, Texas