Capitalizing on Climate

Abstract

The World Bank Group is an institution of contradictions. It is a major climate polluter whose loans help lock developing countries into carbon-intensive development paths for decades, yet it wants to play a leading role in mitigating that same pollution. Though the World Bank is supposed to help developing countries alleviate poverty, its practices often hurt the poor and help entrench the powerful. People in developing countries are already being forced to adapt to the impacts of the pollution the Bank helps cause, while development gains are undercut by the climate crisis. And while the institution views itself as a defender of developing country interests, the World Bank remains a political tool used by developed countries in United Nations climate negotiations to maintain control over international climate finance.