U.S. Wants World Bank to Drop Ban on Upstream Oil and Gas Funding
The World Bank needs profound reforms, including reversing a ban on upstream oil and gas financing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement for the World Bank Development Committee and the IMF International Monetary and Financial Committee. The World Bank has made some steps in returning its focus on its core mission of reducing poverty and raising economic growth, Bessent said,…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called for the World Bank to drop its ban on funding for upstream oil and gas projects. Speaking at the World Bank Development Committee and the IMF International Monetary and Financial Committee, Bessent noted that while the bank has made some progress in refocusing on poverty reduction and economic growth, "significantly more is needed."
The U.S. official emphasized the importance of the bank's goal to extend energy access to 300 million more people in Africa, stating that this objective would be better served if the bank took a technology-neutral approach, removing constraints on supporting natural gas and responding positively to borrower demand for gas projects.
In 2017, the World Bank Group announced it would no longer finance upstream oil and gas after 2019, but Bessent urged the group to formally remove its prohibition on financing upstream gas and oil, arguing that the bank cannot credibly advocate for country ownership while categorically excluding upstream projects before assessing their development merits.
The U.S. administration has been pressuring international institutions to drop environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations and green policy agendas. Recently, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright threatened to leave the International Energy Agency if it continues to promote green energy, preferring to reform the agency instead.
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