Since the Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21 in December 2015, the world has seen increased ambition on climate change. Almost every country in the world has now set national climate targets, and the Agreement has gone into force much earlier than expected.

However, global climate action is still not happening at the scale or speed needed to meet the Paris goal of keeping global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

It started with the bang of a gavel. Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, the world has seen a year of unparalleled ambition on climate change.

Almost every country on Earth – 190 in all – have now set national climate targets as part of the Paris process. Over the course of 2016, there have been important steps forward on aviation, on short-lived climate pollutants, and on putting a price on carbon pollution. Renewable energy surpassed coal to become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world. To date, 100 countries have ratified the Paris Agreement, bringing it into force on November 4 – much faster than anyone would have expected when it was adopted.

Despite these positive steps, global action on climate change is still far from the level needed to achieve the Paris goal of keeping the rise in global temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Over the past year, the World Bank Group has moved quickly to build on the momentum and set the stage for a new level of ambition, committing billions to help countries meet their climate goals, delivering assistance across sectors, and pushing forward on global issues to reflect the growing international consensus that climate change must be tackled rapidly, systematically, and at scale.

The urgency is driven by the clear threat climate change poses to the achievement of the Bank Group’s overarching goals: ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity. One year ago, the Bank Group warned that without rapid action, climate change could push more than 100 million additional people into poverty by 2030. 

In April, the Bank Group adopted a Climate Change Action Plan, based on growing demand for support from client countries. Under the Action Plan, the Bank Group is integrating climate change into all of its work, and expanding commitments in high-impact areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, disaster preparedness, and urban resilience.

“The Climate Action Plan is the World Bank Group’s own Paris commitment,” said John Roome, Senior Director for Climate Change at the World Bank.  “It allows us to pool our resources from across different sectors and target them for the highest impact, providing countries systematic solutions that reduce emissions and increase climate resilience.”

Over the course of 2016, the Bank Group has stepped up its engagements on climate change and delivered support to countries across a wide spectrum of action, ranging from new financing for solar and wind power to increasing the resilience of urban dwellers, farmers and fishing communities; from helping countries manage their forest resources to facilitating billions of dollars in sustainable investments by the private sector; and from reducing vulnerability in small island states to pushing forward global action on carbon pricing.

As attention turns to COP22, being held in Marrakech, Morocco on November 7-18, the Bank Group is aligning its efforts around a few focus areas as recently laid out by President Jim Yong Kim. These include facilitating the transition to renewable and low-carbon forms of energy, greening the finance sector, and ramping up global action on energy efficiency.

At the center of these efforts is a push to help countries integrate climate change into their national planning and budgeting and deliver on their Paris climate pledges – the Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs.

At COP22, the Bank Group will be announcing progress on the Africa Climate Business Plan, which was launched in Paris. The Business Plan aims to raise $19 billion by 2020 for investments that will strengthen the resilience of the continent’s environment and people, and improve energy access via renewable energy. Much of the funding for the Business Plan will come through IDA, the Bank Group’s fund for the poorest countries.

A new Climate Action Plan for the Middle East and North Africa region will be launched at COP22. This will focus on fostering water and food security in one of the world’s most vulnerable regions, as well as supporting sustainable, resilient and connected cities; encouraging the energy transition; and protecting the most vulnerable communities from climate-related shocks.

“The NDCs are the building blocks of the Paris Agreement, but we know that the current NDCs won’t get us to the ultimate goal of keeping the rise in global temperatures to below 2 degrees,” said Laura Tuck. “That is why it is so important that we help countries to meet their targets quickly, and then to increase their ambitions in the years to come.”

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‘Paris goals will define World Bank Group’s work’

Statement from World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on the eve of the Paris Climate Change Agreement going into force

“November 4, 2016, is a defining moment in human history. For the first time a global agreement to turn down the heat on our planet enters into force.  

The Paris Climate Change Agreement – ratified in record time by over 90 countries to date – will now be the instrument around which our futures depend. However, even with the commitments made in Paris and encouraging action on the ground, we will not meet our aspiration of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees unless we move faster and at the scale that is needed. 

As the world heads into COP22 in Marrakesh, we must regain the sense of urgency we felt a year ago. With each passing day, the climate challenge grows. If we are to have any chance of meeting the goals enshrined in the Agreement, we need to move quickly on at least four priorities for action. 

Build climate ambition into the development plans of every country: Over the next 15 years, infrastructure investments around the world will amount to over $90 trillion. Most of this will be in developing countries. Making sure these investments are low-carbon and climate-resilient can promote sustainable economic growth, which is key to achieving our goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Countries can now use the Paris Agreement to drive climate-smart policy action, like carbon pricing, to attract the right infrastructure investments. In the post-Paris world, growth cannot come at any cost.

Accelerate the transition to cleaner energy: Last week, the International Energy Agency boosted its five-year growth forecast for renewables because of strong support in key countries and sharp cost reductions. In fact, renewables surpassed coal last year to become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world. Building on this momentum, we need to focus special attention and action on Asia, where energy demand is growing and some countries continue to look to coal as the solution. Shifting those countries toward low-carbon energy paths, combined with action on phasing down hydrofluorocarbons, could make all the difference. We need to help countries make the right choice between high-carbon energy sources and renewable alternatives. We must ‘follow the carbon.’ That means we have to direct concessional finance where it will make the greatest difference. 

Help countries build resilience to climate shocks: As we said in Paris, without climate action at scale, more than 100 million people could fall back into extreme poverty by 2030. That’s why we need to build the resilience of communities, economies, and ecosystems. We have a good idea of what is needed – more efficient water supply, climate-smart agriculture, early warning systems, disaster risk reduction, and better social protection. We have a choice to make. Otherwise, the poverty reduction gains we’ve made together will be lost.

Green the finance sector: We need a global financial system that’s fit for purpose to factor in climate risks and opportunities. This is vital if we are to mobilize the trillions of dollars in private capital needed to address climate change. More and more, we are seeing major institutional investors incorporating climate considerations into their decision making. Still, many developing countries will continue to need significant amounts of concessional finance to make good on their climate plans. Donor countries made a strong commitment in Paris. And now we must turn those commitments into action. 

What was agreed in Paris is now a defining principle of the World Bank Group’s work. Ending extreme poverty and fighting climate change are inextricably linked. We cannot do one without the other. 

Today is a day to celebrate. Tomorrow, we get back to work with an even greater sense of urgency.”