World Bank’s climate work can endure without finance target, experts say

Share: X (Twitter) Facebook LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Print The World Bank has scrapped its headline climate finance target under pressure from the Trump administration, but experts believe the survival of its wider climate programme should preserve support for clean energy and resilience in developing nations. Since the CCAP began, the World Bank’s climate finance nearly doubled to $39.2 billion in 2025, with 48% of its financing showing climate “co-benefits” and exceeding the target first set at COP28.  Already have an account? Log in here → Upgrade to keep reading For 15 years we’ve rigorously reported on the decisions shaping our climate. Upgrading to a paid subscription is how readers like you help keep this work going.  £40/quarter → Or £130/year — best value. ×Log in to your account Forgot your password? The World Bank has scrapped its headline climate finance target under pressure from the Trump administration, but experts believe the survival of its wider climate programme should preserve support for clean energy and resilience in developing nations. Since the CCAP began, the World Bank’s climate finance nearly doubled to $39.2 billion in 2025, with 48% of its financing showing climate “co-benefits” and exceeding the target first set at COP28.  US attack partially rebuffed With the CCAP due to lapse at the end of June, the US - the World Bank’s largest shareholder - mounted a campaign for the lender to axe the programme entirely. Last April, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly welcomed the plan’s upcoming expiration, urging the bank to “shift its myopic focus on climate” and abandon its “distortionary” 45% climate finance target.  But Washington was left increasingly isolated during protracted negotiations in recent months as both European governments and a wide-ranging coalition of developing countries held firm on the plan’s extension, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Climate Home News. In May, executive directors representing a bloc of nearly 100 countries, including China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Russia, sent a letter to the World Bank's board requesting the CCAP be extended and calling for an independent review of the programme. While the US had previously seemed unwilling to compromise with its European counterparts, that intervention got it to “back off from its most extreme positions”, E3G’s Scull said. Focus on "outcomes" In its statement on Monday, the World Bank Group said it would place less weight on the amount of money flowing into projects with climate benefits and shift its focus to "outcomes", including indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions avoided and the number of people better shielded from climate risks.