The World Bank Group said on June 29 it will "retire" its previous goal to devote 45% of its annual lending resources to projects with climate co-benefits, but extend its longstanding Climate Change Action Plan that was due to expire on June 30.
The development lender, which had been under pressure from the Trump administration to abandon the climate lending target adopted during the Biden administration in 2023, said in a statement it would complete a shift to focusing on lending outcomes rather than input goals.
World Bank President Ajay Banga, who was initially charged with squeezing more climate lending resources from the bank's balance sheet, has shifted his focus to "smart development," which aims to boost job opportunities while still providing climate-related benefits such as drought-resistant agriculture or storm-resistant infrastructure and renewable energy where appropriate.
The World Bank said that at the request of its executive board, the lender's Independent Evaluation Group would perform a review of the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), which was first adopted in rolling five-year plans in 2016.
The bank's previous target of devoting 35% of lending resources to climate-related projects also was dropped, but bank officials have said that demand for projects with climate co-benefits remains strong from client countries.
