U.K. Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell should use his position on the World Bank’s board to urge the Washington-based lender to abandon investments in carbon-intensive energy projects, U.K.-based charity Christian Aid says.
World Bank financing for coal plants, which emit massive amounts of carbon, has increased 40-fold in the last five years, reaching a record USD4.4 billion last year, the nonprofit notes.
“Mr Mitchell must use his position to urge a fundamental rethink of World Bank energy policies. Unless it changes, it is completely unsuited to act as a conduit for climate change funds,” Christian Aid senior climate policy adviser Alison Doig said on Jan. 17.
The U.K. has a 3.75 percent voting share at the bank.