“Close on the heels of the inconclusive end to the Copenhagen Accord, the US government has stepped up pressure on the World Bank not to fund coal-fired power plants in developing countries.

In a letter sent to the World Bank, a copy of which is with TOI, United States Executive Director Whitney Debevoise said, “The Obama Administration believes that the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have a potentially critical role to play in the future international framework for climate finance, and, in particular, to assist developing countries in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening their economies’ resilience to climate risks.”

Referring to the guidelines as a product of “internal US government deliberations”, Debevoise has advised MDBs to “remove barriers to and build demand for no or low carbon resources”. Though the US Treasury Department (USTD) is a statutary body and its recommendations are not binding on the World Bank, the move, the first-of-its-kind, is believed to have created pressure on the bank. …

Following Debevoise’s controversial guidelines, the axe has already fallen on Pakistan’s Thar Coal and Energy Project on the grounds that “the limited financing available from the Bank should be directed toward investments that address energy supply shortfalls in an environmentally sustainable manner”. According to sources, the next coal-fired power project to be affected will be one from South Africa.” “US to World Bank: Don’t fund coal-fired plants” h/t Energy Tribune