Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019)
To effectively mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions, both industrialized and developing countries should participate in the energy transition that to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have been scaling up their renewable energy finance to developin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/9/2648 |
| _version_ | 1797535192523472896 |
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| author | Jeong Won Kim Jae-Seung Lee |
| author_facet | Jeong Won Kim Jae-Seung Lee |
| author_sort | Jeong Won Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To effectively mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions, both industrialized and developing countries should participate in the energy transition that to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have been scaling up their renewable energy finance to developing countries to help them achieve their renewable energy targets. This study examines the evolution of energy financing of the World Bank, the oldest and largest MDB, by reviewing and estimating its sector-specific energy investments made over the last 35 years (1985–2019). The results confirm that the World Bank is on the right track supporting energy transition in developing countries, overall; however, limitations exist. While the share of investments in non-hydro renewable energy (NHRE) in the World Bank’s total energy finance was expanded from 1% (1985–1990) to 16.5% (2011–2019), the share of fossil fuels contracted from 51.8% (1985–1990) to 15.2% (2011–2019). However, commitments to fossil fuels have been sustained, but financing for NHRE—US$1.2 billion per year after the adoption of the Paris Agreement—is still insufficient to meet demand. Moreover, NHRE finance tended to be concentrated in middle-income developing countries. To accelerate the energy transition in developing countries, the World Bank needs to increase NHRE finance with more support for low-income countries while reducing fossil fuel finance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:41:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-07f5f45099f44797a171cc6593a36bfe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:41:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-07f5f45099f44797a171cc6593a36bfe2023-11-21T18:26:51ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-05-01149264810.3390/en14092648Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019)Jeong Won Kim0Jae-Seung Lee1Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119620, SingaporeDivision of International Studies and Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Korea University, Seoul 02841, KoreaTo effectively mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions, both industrialized and developing countries should participate in the energy transition that to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have been scaling up their renewable energy finance to developing countries to help them achieve their renewable energy targets. This study examines the evolution of energy financing of the World Bank, the oldest and largest MDB, by reviewing and estimating its sector-specific energy investments made over the last 35 years (1985–2019). The results confirm that the World Bank is on the right track supporting energy transition in developing countries, overall; however, limitations exist. While the share of investments in non-hydro renewable energy (NHRE) in the World Bank’s total energy finance was expanded from 1% (1985–1990) to 16.5% (2011–2019), the share of fossil fuels contracted from 51.8% (1985–1990) to 15.2% (2011–2019). However, commitments to fossil fuels have been sustained, but financing for NHRE—US$1.2 billion per year after the adoption of the Paris Agreement—is still insufficient to meet demand. Moreover, NHRE finance tended to be concentrated in middle-income developing countries. To accelerate the energy transition in developing countries, the World Bank needs to increase NHRE finance with more support for low-income countries while reducing fossil fuel finance.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/9/2648energy financerenewable energy investmentmultilateral development bankWorld Bankenergy transition |
| spellingShingle | Jeong Won Kim Jae-Seung Lee Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019) Energies energy finance renewable energy investment multilateral development bank World Bank energy transition |
| title | Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019) |
| title_full | Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019) |
| title_fullStr | Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019) |
| title_short | Greening Energy Finance of Multilateral Development Banks: Review of the World Bank’s Energy Project Investment (1985–2019) |
| title_sort | greening energy finance of multilateral development banks review of the world bank s energy project investment 1985 2019 |
| topic | energy finance renewable energy investment multilateral development bank World Bank energy transition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/9/2648 |
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