A new report by Oxfam, “Climate Finance Unchecked,” has determined that the World Bank has $41 billion in unaccounted funds that were destined to fight climate change.
This figure represents 40% of all disbursed climate funds by the World Bank. Oxfam’s audit revealed that between 2017 and 2023, between $24 billion and $41 billion simply went unaccounted for and there is absolutely no record of where the money went. No one knows how the money was used as there is no paper trail revealing where the money went.
“The Bank is quick to brag about its climate finance billions —but these numbers are based on what it plans to spend, not on what it actually spends once a project gets rolling,” said Kate Donald, Head of Oxfam International’s Washington D.C. Office. “This is like asking your doctor to assess your diet only by looking at your grocery list, without ever checking what actually ends up in your fridge.”
The World Bank is a leader in climate finance, controlling 52% of the total flow from all multilateral banks combined. World Bank President Ajay Banga announced in December that the bank achieved 35% of its financing three years ahead of schedule. He then set a new target of 45% by 2025. The bank later said in September that it achieved 44% of climate financing to the tune of $42.6 billion. “We’re putting our ambition in overdrive,” Banga said.
The bank acknowledged that it was difficult to keep track of its 800 climate financing projects but offered no insight into the missing funds. “It is clear that no one — including the Bank — has any real idea of how many billions of dollars are going to which climate actions,” the Oxfam report said.
Yet, climate activists are demanding $5 trillion in ANNUAL financing for the Global South to pay toward climate debt. Where did the $41 billion go? That large of a sum simply cannot be lost in a mere paperwork or oversight error. The climate change agenda has become a slush fund for the elite who will continue to fund this agenda without taking any responsibility for where the funds go or if they’re actually altering the climate in any meaningful way.
