At A Glance: ·     The poorest countries will suffer the earliest and the most from the effects of climate change. Hard won gains in poverty reduction are at risk.  ·      A “climate smart†world is possible, where policies, projects, and programs are put in place to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and where developing countries exposed to climate change are helped to prepare for its inevitable impacts. Developing countries are proving  it is possible to shift from climate-vulnerable to climate-smart and have economic growth while doing it.     ·      Four out of five countries the World Bank works with have made climate change a top priority for their anti-poverty plans. Some 90 per cent of new country assistance and partnership strategies emphasize climate action.  ·     With the next United Nations climate summit in Durban, South Africa in December there will be a focus on the challenges and opportunities for Africa. Issues high on the agenda include: energy access, carbon markets, water, and programs for climate-smart agriculture with the “triple win†effect of higher crop yields, greater incomes for famers, and an overall climate benefit of lowering GHG.  Climate Change at the Forefront of Bank Operations Climate change has moved to the forefront of thinking and operations in the Bank. The Latin America and Caribbean Region, for example, has a portfolio of more than 180 country-led activities with climate change adaptation and mitigation co-benefits, totaling more than $7.3 billion. Making development climate-resilient has also emerged as a priority in Sub-Saharan Africa. From addressing drought risk in Ethiopia ($175 million worth of funds from the International Development Association – IDA - the Bank’s fund for the poorest) to watershed management in Kenya and Malawi (a total of $75.5 million), Africa is rapidly increasing its efforts to grapple with development challenges in a changing climate.  Climate Investment Funds The Bank ramped up its operations and implementation of projects under the $6.5 billion Climate Investment Fund in fiscal 2011 in partnership with other multilateral development banks. This total consists of $4.5 billion to the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and $2 billion to the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF). The respective trust fund committees have committed $1.7 billion to new projects that support developing country efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.  CTF funding is leading to leveraging investments of $36 billion. With CTF support, 14 middle income countries (Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam) plan to radically rebalance their national energy portfolios by investing in renewables at a large scale. Under the SCF, the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) endorsed strategic investment plans worth around $700 million. Projects and programs will address the impacts of climate variability and change through mainstreaming of adaptation to climate change in development activities.  Also under the SCF, the Forest Investment Program (FIP) endorsed two new investment plans for Burkina Faso and Democratic Republic of Congo for a total of $90 million in grants. With support from the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program in Low Income Countries (SREP), Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Maldives, Mali, and Nepal announced their intention to invest in renewable energy services as a means to grow their citizens’ access to cleaner energy.  Carbon Finance and Market Innovation Today, the Bank is the trustee of 12 carbon funds and facilities that support the mitigation of climate change through carbon finance, including two new facilities that focus on activities beyond the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, ending December 31, 2012. Together these funds and facilities amount to $2.7 billion under management, of which $1.9 billion has been committed to purchasing emissions reductions. Some 174 active projects are expected to reduce emissions by an estimated 220 million metric tons of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.  The Bank continues to pilot innovative approaches and explore new opportunities to broaden the scope of carbon finance and scale up its impact on development. The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) aims to assist developing countries in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. With over $447 million already committed and pledged to these activities, the FCPF has 37 participating ‘REDD countries’, of which, 19 have already received grant allocations.  The Carbon Partnership Facility created in May 2010, so far has committed €143.5 million to scale up the use of carbon finance to accelerate mitigation activities after 2012. The new Partnership for Market Readiness will support innovation in developing countries like China, Chile, Columbia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Ukraine, and others on market-based instruments.  This new facility – currently funded at $70 million, but expected to rise to $100 million – will provide technical support to these efforts and share practical lessons for others to follow.  The World Bank Treasury supports innovative financing flows for climate-smart investment through the funds it raises in the capital markets.  Since the inaugural issue in 2008, the Bank has issued over $2 billion in Green Bonds through approximately 41 transactions and 16 currencies specifically to support adaptation and mitigation activities in client countries.    Lowering our own Carbon Footprint In 2006, the Bank Group became the first multilateral development bank to become carbon neutral at its headquarters. Its global corporate facilities, business travel, and the Spring and Annual Meetings are carbon neutral through a strategy of energy efficiency and reduction measures, carbon offsetting, and green power purchases.  The Bank is also actively developing methods to analyze the carbon footprint of its projects. Some of these tools, such as accounting for and valuing GHG emissions, are already used in its carbon finance projects.
For more information, please see: www.worldbank.org/climatechange   Contacts: Robert Bisset: (202) 458-5191, rbisset@worldbank.org   Elisabeth Mealey (202) 4584475, emealey@worldbank.org   Updated August 2011  | 
