When Ajay Banga took over as head of the World Bank last June, he vowed to prioritize tackling climate change at the institution. But 12 months on, how much has he actually delivered?
The president has certainly made a lot of noise about climate. One of his first moves was to introduce a new climate-oriented vision statement for the bank to “create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.” Then, during the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28, in December, Banga committed the lender to spend 45% of its annual financing on climate-related projects in the next fiscal year, up from its previous 35% target.
During the Spring Meetings in April, Banga announced a plan to provide affordable electricity to 250 million people across Africa by 2030, with all new power generation coming from renewable energy sources.