The World Bank said on Wednesday it would stop providing financing to oil and gas projects after 2019, a move that analysts said may speed up the momentum towards clean energy investments by large global financial institutions.
The Washington-headquartered lender, whose current spending on energy accounts for 1 per cent of its annual budget, said it would channel 28 per cent of its lending to climate action by 2020. The announcement was made at the One Planet conference in Paris, convened by French president Emmanuel Macron, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, and World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim.
The move follows similar initiatives by large financial institutions such as the US$1 trillion Norwegian sovereign wealth fund - the world's largest - which, in November said that it would sell all of its shares in oil and gas companies.
The global sentiment towards oil and gas investment is increasingly turning negative with large funds continuing to move away from fossil fuels. Even the large oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia are accelerating renewable energy programmes and phasing out subsidies.
"There is no doubt that, on balance, the global sentiment is increasingly hostile towards oil and gas, and the World Bank's announcement adds to it," said Carole Nakhle, chief executive of London-based energy advisory firm Crystol Energy. "However, until truly competitive alternatives are developed, the world will continue to see the dominance of fossil fuels in its primary energy mix for the foreseeable future."
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Mohamed Ramady, professor at Dhahran-based King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, said that the announcement will serve as a "wake up call" for producers in the Arabian Gulf to cut reliance on oil.
"It's part of a trend when you see oil producers like Norway readjusting their investments in oil and gas," he said, adding that investment hedge and ethical funds will continue to invest in clean energy and gas. "This will encourage the step towards reforms in Saudi Arabia and the UAE which are looking at nuclear energy and renewables."
The World Bank's energy portfolio has been spent on helping communities living off-grid in energy poor nations to get access to power. Around 1.06 billion people worldwide live in energy poverty with no access to electricity, while another three billion subsist on polluting and hazardous fuels such as wood, charcoal, coal and dung for heating and cooking purposes, according to the bank.
However, despite being a net oil exporting region, countries in the Middle East and North Africa such as Egypt and Yemen have populations suffering acute energy deficiency . Others, such as Lebanon, have felt the strain of huge energy import bills squeezing their budgets.
The World Bank has supported access to electricity in these countries by dispensing loans. On Monday, the bank signed a $1.15bn financing agreement with Egypt, which among other things supports energy security in the most populous Arab nation . Egypt hopes offshore gas discoveries in the Mediterranean will transform it into a net exporter of the fuel.
Mr Ramady said that the bank's phase-out will bite the energy poor nations the hardest.
, The World Bank however said that it would make exceptions.
"Consideration will be given to financing upstream gas in the poorest countries where there is a clear benefit in terms of energy access for the poor and the project fits within the countries’ Paris Agreement commitments," it said in a statement.
The Paris Agreement is a global climate accord reached two years ago by around 200 countries that promised to limit global warming to 2 degrees or less by 2100 through lower carbon dioxide and other emissions.
The bank did not respond to emailed questions on its current and future spending targets for tackling energy poverty.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:
Pakistan (1st innings) 181: Babar 71; Olivier 6-37
South Africa (1st innings) 223: Bavuma 53; Amir 4-62
Pakistan (2nd innings) 190: Masood 65, Imam 57; Olivier 5-59
Results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.
4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
