As the World Bank prepared to launch two new climate investment funds at the G8 summit, and position itself as the 'climate bank,' new statistics developed by the Bank Information Center show that the World Bank's private sector arm, the International Financial Corporation (IFC), increased its lending for fossil fuel projects by a staggering 165% in FY2008. Taken as a whole, the World Bank Group increased its fossil-fuel lending by 60% in the same period.
New statistics developed by the Bank Information Center show that the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, the International Financial Corporation (IFC), increased its lending for fossil fuel projects by a staggering 165% in FY2008[1]. Taken as a whole, the World Bank Group increased its fossil-fuel lending by 60% in the same period.

“While the World Bank appears to have slowed down lending for fossil fuels, at least in FY08, the IFC has shot way up,” said Heike Mainhardt-Gibbs, a consultant with BIC who generated the statistics. “Not only did the IFC increase its lending for oil and gas, but in 2007 and 2008 huge investments have been made in coal.” Total World Bank Group financing for fossil fuel projects is estimated to have been nearly US$2.3 billion in 2008. Of this, IFC projects accounted for approximately US$2.2 billion.[2] (See spreadsheet below for detailed data.) Included in IFC’s fossil-fuel investments are two large coal power plant projects, totaling US$750 million – the controversial Tata Ultra Mega project in Gujarat, India (4,000 megawatts), and the Calaca Power project in the Philippines. These two projects alone account for 33% of total World Bank Group fossil-fuel financing for the year.