Remarks by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at Transforming Climate Finance Event, COP28

These were the remarks delivered by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at the COP28 Climate Finance Event on December 1, 2023. He spoke about the resources of wealthy nations can create opportunities, meanwhile the abundance of sun, wind, fertile soil, and young people enjoyed by emerging economies could drive our future. We have inherited decades of knowledge and benefitted from the generosity of every nation, now we are being called upon to lead, and we have never been better positioned to deliver the progress that is demanded. Today, the World Bank is setting an ambitious goal to devote 45 percent of our annual financing to climate by 2025. We’re putting our ambition in overdrive and putting to work more than 40 billion dollars per year, around 9 billion dollars more than the original target. Making certain IBRD and IDA resources are deployed equally for mitigation and adaptation, because while we all are experiencing climate change, we are feeling the effects differently. Over the next few days, the World Bank will detail a blueprint for slashing methane emissions, announce a roadmap for high integrity carbon markets, discuss progress on our Private Sector Investment Lab, and outline efforts to deepen the collective impact of multilateral development banks.