World Bank Targets 30 GW Of Renewable Energy In New Climate Action Plan

World Bank’s new 30 GW climate action plan for renewable energy promises to have a timely international impact on global energy planning and production strategies.

The World Bank Group unveiled its ambitious new plan to aid developing countries in fulfilling their COP21 pledges by adding 30 GW of renewable energy – doubling its current contributions to global energy capacity.

Not only does this action plan provide a concrete focus on clean energy, it points to green transport, climate-smart agriculture, and urban resilience. In short, it directly addresses the impacts of climate change.

Renewable energy photo shutterstock_227450902

In its April 7 press announcement, the World Bank Group unveiled plans to help developing countries add 30 GW of renewable energy. This total is enough to power 150 million homes, bring early warning systems to 100 million people, and develop climate-smart agriculture investment plans for at least 40 countries.

“These are among a number of ambitious targets laid out in the World Bank Group’s new Climate Change Action Plan, approved today, which aims to accelerate efforts to tackle climate change over the next five years and help developing countries deliver on their national climate plans submitted for the historic climate agreement reached at COP21 in Paris in December last year.

“The plan revealed concrete actions to help countries deliver on their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and set out designs to mobilize $250 billion in private funding for clean energy for 2020. Among the plans reported by the World Bank on Thursday, is a target to bring early warning systems to 100 million people and develop climate-savvy agricultural investment plans for at least 40 countries, also by 2020.”

Climate Action Plan follows Paris climate agreement

Funding, of course, will drive the success of this strategy. To this end, the World Bank plan seeks to increase climate financing to up to $29 billion annually by 2020.

“Following the Paris climate agreement, we must now take bold action to protect our planet for future generations,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “We are moving urgently to help countries make major transitions to increase sources of renewable energy, decrease high-carbon energy sources, develop green transport systems, and build sustainable, livable cities for growing urban populations. Developing countries want our help to implement their national climate plans, and we’ll do all we can to help them.”

The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, aims to contribute to the action plan by increasing current efforts to $3.5 billion a year. It also seeks to add an additional $13 billion a year in private sector funding by 2020.

According to the press announcement, the Bank Group will also help “green” the financial sector through a coordinated approach across banking, pensions and capital markets to implement changes needed nationally and globally. It will also create special teams to work with countries to generate a robust pipeline of bankable projects, with a focus on areas like rooftop solar and boosting the growth of distributed solar in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Image via Shutterstock

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