Facts Counter World Bank Energy Accessibility Claims

For decades the World Bank has been working to help poor and developing nations to meet the needs of their countrymen, which includes increasing access of electricity to the 1.4 billion people across the globe who currently go without.

But in spite of their claims to the contrary, the Bank is using very little of their seemingly endless resources to provide efficient, clean energy to those in need.

According to a new report by Oil Change International, the World Bank is using their resources to promote the use of fossil fuels such as coal, biomass, oil, and gas, as opposed to investing in clean technologies like hydropower, wind, and solar.

As the report details, most of these clean technologies are already in use in areas of the world where access to electricity is lacking, so relying on more environmentally-hazardous forms of energy is not only bad for the environment, but it is actually financially backwards.

Investing in outdated forms of energy is far more costly than investments in clean energy. For example, the price of oil, coal, and biomass are market-driven, meaning that the price of these items can fluctuate from day to day, and certainly from quarter to quarter.

According to the Oil Change International report, the World Bank spent a record US$6.3 billion on traditional energy sources in 2010, which includes $4.4 billion on coal. At the same time, however, they also spent a record $3.4 billion on renewable sources of energy – a record for them, but considerably less than was spent on dangerous energy sources.

The report does offer solutions for the World Bank in order to pull them away from traditional sources of energy and towards cleaner, renewable sources. From the report:

• Prioritize investments that ensure increased energy access for the poor, focusing on technologies that are cost effective and have positive social and environmental impacts.
   
• End support for all fossil fuel projects (other than assistance with transition such as mine closure) that do not have as their sole purpose energy access for the poor.
   
• Require all energy projects to evaluate, track, and publicly report on energy access for the poor.
   
• Increase lending for small scale and large scale renewable energy, which can help both improve access and shift to a low carbon economy, and streamline energy efficiency across Bank lending, inside and outside the energy sector.
   
• Work with countries and stakeholders to clarify the benefits and develop plans

The full report can be found here.