Key Findings

1. Since the Earth Summit, the World Bank has funded projects that will add carbon emissions to the Earth's atmosphere equivalent to more than ALL current annual GLOBAL fossil fuel emissions.

Since the Climate Convention, designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions, was signed by most of the world's leaders at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the World Bank Group has helped finance fossil fuel projects which will, over their lifetimes, release the equivalent of more than the entire planet's current annual carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning. Our report details $9.4 billion in Bank commitments from FY1993 to 1997 which, we estimate, will contribute to the emission of at least 9.5 billion tons of carbon (or 35 gigatons of carbon dioxide) over their lifetimes. In addition, we examine pending commitments of $4.1 billion for projects that will release an additional estimated 1.3 gigatons of carbon (4.7 gigatons of CO2). These estimates are conservative, and do not attempt to include all Bank-financed projects (such as transportation loans or Russian coal mining); were we to do so, this figure could increase by 10 times or more. Total estimated global emissions of carbon from fossil fuel consumption-- the single greatest contributor to climate change -- were approximately 6.24 gigatons in 1995 (28 billion tons of CO2).

2. Although earmarked for development assistance and poverty relief, 9 out of every 10 World Bank fossil fuel investments actually end up enriching multinational corporations.

The fossil fuel projects financed by the World Bank boost sales and profits by G-7-based corporations: This report examines 51 Bank-financed fossil-fuel power plants, 20 oil and/or gas field projects, 10 oil or gas pipelines, four coal mining programs (that involve more than 26 mines), and 2 oil refineries--for a total of 87 fossil fuel projects. G-7 corporations, among them some of the world's largest, like Exxon, Shell, Amoco and Westinghouse, are investors, suppliers, contractors, or customers in at least 71 of these projects. Of the remaining 16 projects, at least half are actively seeking foreign investors.

3. The poorest one-third of the planet get less than one-tenth of the World Bank's energy investments while absorbing most of the environmental and social costs of fossil fuels.

The World Bank-financed fossil fuel-intensive energy development is powering industrial expansion in developing countries, but bypassing the energy needs of the rural poor: About 78 percent of the World Bank's energy portfolio is devoted to oil, coal, and gas, most of which goes to power industry; while less than 9 percent of overall Bank lending is devoted to helping the 2 billion people in rural areas of the global South with no access to electricity or cooking fuels other than wood, crop waste or animal dung. Although the World Bank's mandate is to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development, many of the Bank-financed fossil fuel projects significantly degrade the environment and leave the rural poor worse off. Indigenous peoples and others living subsistence lifestyles are particularly hard-hit by this fossil fuel-intensive development model.

4. The World Bank invests 100 times more money in promoting climate change than in averting it.

The Bank spends over 100 times as much on fossil fuel investments than it does on the entire GEF budget for projects that "avert" greenhouse gas emissions. The budget for the World Bank-housed Global Environmental Facility --the key global institution charged with financing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- is dwarfed by the Bank's own fossil fuel investments.

5. The World Bank and the G-7 are undermining the spirit--if not the letter--of the Climate Convention for profit.

The Climate Convention allows developing countries unrestricted use of fossil fuels in order that they might address the overriding priorities of economic and social development and poverty eradication. However, this loophole is being exploited by multinational corporations, Northern governments and banks who are continuing their "business as usual"--emitting greenhouse gases and polluting local environments, while failing to address the energy and economic needs of the poorest.

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