International Finance Corporation’s CEO announces plans to develop a green equity investment approach.
The World Bank’s private sector arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), has announced it will proactively help their client companies in “greening their portfolios and reducing their exposure to coal projects”. For the past two years, E3G has been working closely on international financial institutions to align with the Paris climate change goals, particularly work on this topic.
The E3G team is in Bali, Indonesia this week for the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings.
Quotes
Dr Helena Wright, Senior Policy Advisor at E3G said:
“This is a great step for climate action. Since IFC’s indirect lending reaches around 125 countries — this is a far-reaching issue with major implications.
Given their role as standard-setters, the development banks have an opportunity to drive forward a paradigm shift on climate action. While the details have not been fully laid out yet, this could be a great opportunity for the IFC to support a greener financial system and support momentum in the shift away coal.”
Claire Healy, Climate Diplomacy Program Director at E3G said:
"Continued use of coal for power generation is not compatible with the need to sharply reduce emissions and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. That is plain and simple. The IFC sends an important signal and hopefully inspires their clients to decarbonize their own portfolios. Shifting financial flows from coal to clean forms of energy is a top priority in climate diplomacy; and will also provide many benefits in terms of air quality, health and energy security.”
