In a report released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies, Janet Redman, IBES Fellow Timmons Roberts, and students from the Climate & Development Lab sharply critique World Bank's energy-related policies and financing of fossil fuels. The team of authors, which includes IBES undergrads Alexis Durand and Maria Camila Bustos as well as Jeffery Baum '15, found that, despite World Bank's consistent calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to low-carbon development solutions, the organization's own spending reflects four-fold growth in financing of oil, coal, and gas between 2000-2004 and 2010-2014. And although the Bank's funding of renewable energy projects has indeed increased, it remains outsripped by spending in the fossil fuel sector.

The report issues a series of recommendations for World Bank, including cessation of financing toward fossil fuels, more rigorous assessment of renewable energy options, and greater transparency in both spending activities and data collection methods.

To read the full report, visit the Institute for Policy Studies' website.