In a move meant to aid countries reach greenhouse gas-curbing targets set by the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming, the World Bank has announced that it will stop financing oil and gas projects starting from 2019. The announcement came at a climate summit seeking to boost the global economy’s shift to clean energy.
“The World Bank Group will no longer finance upstream oil and gas, after 2019,” it said in a statement in Paris, where world leaders were seeking more funding from pledging members to speed up the shift away from fossil fuels.
“In exceptional circumstances, consideration will be given to financing upstream gas in the poorest countries where there is a clear benefit in terms of energy access for the poor and the project fits within the countries’ Paris Agreement commitments.”
In related news, the world’s biggest 100 polluting companies were put on notice by investors to pressure them to tackle climate change. In a first coordinated global effort by shareholders, companies like Australian firms BHP Billiton, Wesfarmers and Rio Tinto are being forced to take corporate action on climate change. The initiative will target 100 global companies responsible for an estimated 15% of global emissions.
Source: dailyaccord
