The World Bank, the largest funder of fossil fuel projects around the world, is attempting to reinvent itself as a leader in the fight against climate change.  But a look behind the scenes shows that the green rhetoric conceals dramatically increased support of dirty coal, gas and oil projects that contribute to global warming, debt and poverty.  

To dramatize this blatant greenwashing, activists gathered in front of the World Bank building during its annual meetings in protest of continued funding for fossil fuel development.  Dressed in the suit-and-tie uniform of the Word Bank executives, members of Oil Change International, Friends of the Earth and other groups cheerfully covered oil barrels and giant lumps of coal with green paint under the banner “World Bank + Climate Investment Funds = Greenwash!”

The Bank has been widely touting its Climate Investment Funds initiative as a step forward in the fight against climate change, claiming that billions have been designated for funding green development and clean technology.  The reality is just a bit different:  In the last year, lending for coal, oil and gas went up 94% to just over $3 billion.  As if that weren’t enough, lending for coal alone has increased by a stunning 256% in the past year.  And while bank officials can point to the fact that lending to renewable energy and energy efficiency lending is also up— by 87% —the vast majority of those funds go to support large, environmentally questionable hydropower projects and supply-side energy efficiency.

Clearly, these so-called “Climate Investment Funds” are more about investment than climate.  The World Bank must realize that the public sees through its transparent greenwashing, and that in the fight against climate change, action—not lip service—is what counts.