Up to $41 billion in World Bank climate finance unaccounted for, Oxfam finds
Up to $41 billion in World Bank climate finance —nearly 40 percent of all climate funds disbursed by the Bank over the past seven years— is unaccounted for due to poor record-keeping practices, reveals a new Oxfam report published today ahead of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C.
An Oxfam audit of the World Bank’s 2017-2023 climate finance portfolio found that between $21 billion and $41 billion in climate finance went unaccounted for between the time projects were approved and when they closed.
There is no clear public record showing where this money went or how it was used, which makes any assessment of its impacts impossible. It also remains unclear whether these funds were even spent on climate-related initiatives intended to help low- and middle-income countries protect people from the impacts of the climate crisis and invest in clean energy.
“The Bank is quick to brag about its climate finance billions —but these numbers are based on what it plans to spend, not on what it spends once a project gets rolling,” said Kate Donald, Head of Oxfam International’s Washington D.C. Office. “This is like asking your doctor to assess your diet only by looking at your grocery list, without checking what ends up in your fridge.”
The Bank is the largest multilateral provider of climate finance, accounting for 52 percent of the total flow from all multilateral development banks combined.
The issue of climate finance will take center stage at this year’s COP in Azerbaijan, where countries are set to negotiate a new global climate finance goal, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). Climate activists are demanding the Global North provide at least $5 trillion a year in public finance to the Global South to pay for climate adaptation, the loss and damage caused by the impacts of climate breakdown, and a just transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Oxfam warns that the lack of traceable spending could undermine trust in global climate finance efforts at this critical juncture.
Donald emphasized the importance of tracking climate finance spending, stating that addressing the climate crisis is crucial for our future, and the Bank must act accordingly to ensure progress is made at COP this year.
Oxfam’s investigation revealed that obtaining even basic information on how the World Bank is using climate finance was detailed and difficult.
Donald criticized the difficulty in accessing and understanding complex and incomplete reports, stating that it should be transparent and accessible to everyone, especially communities benefiting from climate finance. He emphasized the need for professional researchers to determine the allocation of billions of dollars for climate action.
