The World Bank (World Bank Group, WBG) He abandoned the current target of the climate agenda, according to which at least 45% of the annual loan portfolio should have been projects aimed at combating climate change. This is reported by foreign media.
Instead of targeting climate finance, the new approach involves financing projects that simultaneously contribute to economic development, job creation, and increased resilience to climate risks, including the development of drought-tolerant agriculture, the construction of more sustainable infrastructure, and renewable energy projects.
In recent years, the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) She defined the World Bank's approach to financing projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, develop clean energy and increase countries' resilience to the effects of climate change.
In 2025, the World Bank's climate finance reached $39.2 billion. The share of projects with climate-related side effects amounted to 48% of the total funding, exceeding the previously set targets.
At the same time, the World Bank does not abandon the climate program itself, which will continue to operate and will undergo an independent assessment. Abandoning the target does not automatically mean a reduction in climate investment, and most World Bank entities retain their own commitments to finance climate-related projects and will continue to take climate indicators into account in all projects.
The decision was made as a result of lengthy negotiations between the bank's shareholders. The United States, which is the majority shareholder of the World Bank and has consistently advocated the return of the World Bank to financing economic development and poverty reduction, without setting mandatory climate quotas, was the most active advocate for abandoning the climate target.
From the analysts' point of view, the decision demonstrates the growing influence of geopolitical factors on international financial institutions and the increasing pressure from countries advocating a review of the role of the climate agenda in the activities of global development banks.
