Earth Equity News

World Bank Spends Billions on Coal-Fired Power Plants Despite Own Warnings. By Ben Webster, London Times, September 16, 2009. "The World Bank is spending billions of pounds subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change. The bank, which has a goal of reducing poverty and is funded by Britain and other developed countries, calls on all nations in a report today to 'act differently on climate change'. It says that the world must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, but it is funding several giant coal-burning plants that will each emit millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide a year for the next 40 to 50 years. Britain is contributing £400million to a World Bank fund that claims to support 'clean technology' but is financing coal power plants. The bank's World Development Report says: 'Developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change -- a crisis that is not of their making and for which they are the least prepared. Increasing access to energy and other services using high-carbon technologies will produce more greenhouse gases, hence more climate change.'"