Reflecting the global focus on climate change projects, investment by the world’s six largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) rose to a seven-year high of US$35.2 billion in 2017, up 28% from the previous year.
79% of the total finance was devoted to climate mitigation projects aimed at reducing harmful emissions and slowing down global warming, while the remaining 21% was invested in climate adaption projects that help developing economies deal with unusual levels of rain, worsening droughts and extreme weather events.
The World Bank noted in a statement that 81% was provided as loans and the three major developing regions who received the funds were Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific.
“For the World Bank Group, 2017 was a record-setting year on climate finance as a result of deliberate efforts over the past few years to mainstream climate considerations into our operations,” said World Bank Climate Change senior director, John Roome.
