World Bank Won’t Finance Coal Plants Anymore Because Climate Change Hurts The Poor

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/17/2313211/july-17-news-world-bank-wont-finance-coal-plants-anymore-because-climate-change-hurts-the-poor/

By Ryan Koronowski on Jul 17, 2013

In the same way President Obama announced the U.S. would not finance coal plants abroad unless there was no other option, the World Bank did the same thing yesterday. [Reuters]

The World Bank’s board on Tuesday agreed to a new energy strategy that will limit financing of coal-fired power plants to “rare circumstances,” as the Washington-based global development powerhouse seeks to address the impact of climate change.

The Bank will amend its lending policies for new coal-fired power projects, restricting financial support to countries that have “no feasible alternatives” to coal, as it seeks to balance environmental efforts with the energy needs of poor countries.

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Under World Bank President Jim Yong Kim – the first scientist to head the poverty-fighting institution – the bank has launched a more aggressive stance to spur action on climate change. Kim has said it is impossible to tackle poverty without dealing with the effects of a warmer world.