World Bank $200bn climate investment welcome but financial terms and continued fossil fuels investments remain a challenge

Responding to the announcement that the World Bank is to make $200bn available to support climate action in poor countries, Kiri Hanks, Oxfam Climate Change Policy Advisor at the UN Climate Change Conference said:
 
“The World Bank Group’s pledge to deliver $200 billion helping poor countries reduce their emissions and adapt to a changing climate is very welcome, particularly the World Bank commitment to spend 50% on adaptation. However, while the sums involved may sound huge, in reality they are inflated as most of the money is to come in the form of loans, which obviously must be paid back, guarantees, and private investments. It is not clear how much of this money is provided in grants, which is a key issue under negotiation at COP.
 
“Oxfam is also calling on the World Bank to shift its energy spending away from harmful fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, and carefully assess all its investments to ensure that they do not harm local communities or the environment and they meet the needs of people in living energy poverty.”