9 August 2010
Bill ties the World Bank’s General Capital Increase request to a rapid phase out of Bank support for fossil fuel projects.
On July 29, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2011 Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Bill. Included in the bill is language highlighting the World Bank's dual imperative of improving energy access for the poor and promoting low-carbon development.
At the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings this past April, World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced the $86.2 billion General Capital Increase request for the institution. As the U.S. government considers its fiscal contribution to the Bank, it is of utmost importance that there is a firm commitment from the institution to investment in renewable, sustainable energy alternatives that adequately address the energy needs of the impoverished.
The World Bank is currently drafting its Energy Strategy, which will guide its substantial energy investment portfolio for the next decade. It is the position of several civil society organizations that the U.S. must assess the World Bank's commitment to clean energy before approving the considerable tranche.
read the language
"The Committee notes that access to modern energy services is necessary for poverty eradication and economic progress, and that reliance on fossil fuels in developing countries is a growing contributor to global climate change. The World Bank is currently developing a new energy strategy that must provide strong leadership in addressing these related challenges. As the Committee considers a U.S. contribution to the World Bank's General Capital Increase, it will assess the Bank's progress toward adopting an energy strategy that:
(1) supports increased energy services for the poor that are clean, reliable and sustainable;
(2) assists countries in the transition toward zero/very low-carbon development; and
(3) rapidly phases out Bank support for fossil fuel related projects, except those that are solely to provide access to energy for the poor."
read the full bill
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill 2011, U.S. Senate, July 29, 2010
see also
BIC's World Bank Energy Strategy Review campaign page
Civil society opposes Zoellick's GCI request, Bank Information Center, April 22, 2010 (BIC website)
World Bank Group Energy Sector Financing Update, by Heike Mainhardt-Gibbs, September 2010 (PDF, 186 KB)
Civil society statement on energy access and public financing of fossil fuels, May 6, 2010 (PDF, 124 KB)
BIC model Energy Strategy, by Yong Chen, Bank Information Center, April 23, 2010 (PDF, 810 KB)
Medicine fit for the World Bank?, by Rebecca Harris, The Washington Post, June 28, 2010 (Washington Post website)