A paradox persists in the World Bank Group (WBG)’s and Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s commitment to align with the Paris Agreement and their continued provision of technical assistance for gas-related projects. Gas is a fossil fuel and, at present, it is the most rapidly expanding contributor to CO22emissions among fossil fuels, responsible for over 50% of the recent increase in the past five years. Opting for gas as a transition fuel instead of sustainable renewable energy as an energy source will result in significant adverse environmental impacts and push communities living in climate-vulnerable countries perilously close to climate catastrophe.
This paper analyses MDBs’ alignment with the Paris Agreement, focusing on WBG and ADB technical assistance for fossil gas-related sectors. The WBG has allocated almost $200m in technical assistance for the gas related sector since the Paris Agreement came into effect in 2016, while the ADB has committed nearly $11m for the gas-related sector from 2016 to 2021.
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