The World Bank will stop financing oil and gas exploration and extraction after 2019, it announced on Tuesday at the One Planet Summit in Paris, France.
The Summit comes two years after the Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21, and has been co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.
The World Bank said the decision was in line with its efforts to support countries meet their Paris goald.
“The World Bank Group will no longer finance upstream oil and gas, after 2019,” it said in a statement.
#BreakingNews: @WorldBank will no longer finance upstream #oil and #gas after 2019 → https://t.co/jgbOEBBJse #OnePlanet pic.twitter.com/BYaYLgV4sD
— World Bank (@WorldBank) December 12, 2017
“As a global multilateral development institution, the World Bank Group is continuing to transform its own operations in recognition of a rapidly changing world. To align its support to countries to meet their Paris goals,”it added.
The global financial body also announced that it was “on track to meet its target of 28% of its lending going to climate action by 2020 and to meeting the goals of its Climate Change Action Plan – developed following the Paris Agreement.”
With 189 member countries, the World Bank’s mandate it to provide sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries.
President Macron praised the One Planet Summit, saying it would mobilize nations towards saving the environment.
“This #OnePlanetSummit is all about mobilizing everyone to lead concrete game-changing actions,” he said.
Thank you @antonioguterres, @JimYongKim for co-organizing this unprecedented Summit on climate action.
More than statements, this #OnePlanetSummit is all about mobilizing everyone to lead concrete game-changing actions. #OnePlanet pic.twitter.com/pVuWrZm1P9— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 12, 2017
