African leaders want to tackle climate change with unprecedented World Bank funding

African leaders demanded on Monday that wealthy nations make historic donations to a World Bank facility for poor countries that offers cheap credit rates and is essential for funding their growth and fighting climate change.

Donors will make their financial promises to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that makes loans with low interest rates and extended tenures, during a meeting to be held in Japan in December.

We urge our allies to stand with us at this momentous occasion of unity and to effectively react by upping their IDA contributions. William Ruto, the president of Kenya, spoke to a gathering of World Bank representatives and African leaders on IDA investment, “to at least $120 billion.”

“Deepening development and debt crises that threaten our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said, were the challenges confronting African economies.

He mentioned the terrible floods that hit Kenya and the catastrophic drought that was hitting countries in southern Africa, including Malawi.

After the final fundraising cycle in 2021, which raised $93 billion, it will reach a new peak if donors contribute the minimal amount advised by African leaders.

The three-year cycle of IDA loans is often preceded by contributions from donors made during an international conference.

According to the World Bank, IDA provides low-interest loans to 75 developing countries worldwide, the majority of which are in Africa.

The financing is used by governments to expand access to electricity and healthcare, invest in farming and also create key infrastructure such as roads.

The World Bank’s president, Ajay Banga, pledged to streamline the IDA loan process, reduce “burdensome” regulations, and expedite the delivery of cash to borrower countries.

“We think a more focused deployment of a redesigned and simplified IDA can have a significant impact,” he said.