The World Bank and United Nations on Wednesday appealed for billions of
dollars to provide electricity for the poorest nations but said there would be
no investment in nuclear power.
“We don’t do nuclear energy,” said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim as he
and UN leader Ban Ki-moon outlined efforts to make sure all people have access
to electricity by 2030.
Kim said $600-$800 billion a year will be needed to meet the campaign target
of universal access to electricity, doubling energy efficiency and doubling the
share of renewable energy by 2030.
In some countries, only 10% of the population has electricity.
So far, the campaign has a pledge of one billion dollars from the OPEC Fund
for International Development, Bank of America has raised $500 million through
the world’s first ‘green bond’ and Norway has committed to spend two billion
krone ($325 million) on renewable energy efforts in 2014.
Kim said the World Bank is preparing energy plans for 42 countries that would
be ready in June, but said any money raised would only go to new power
sources.
“Nuclear power from country to country is an extremely political issue,” Kim
told reporters.
“The World Bank Group does not engage in providing support for nuclear power.
We think that this is an extremely difficult conversation that every country is
continuing to have.
“And because we are really not in that business our focus is on finding ways
of working in hydro electric power in geo-thermal, in solar, in wind,” he
said.
“We are really focusing on increasing investment in those modalities and we
don’t do nuclear energy.”
Kim highlighted private financing for power expansion in Nigeria and Ivory
Coast and said efforts were being made to launch a similar deal for Myanmar,
where the government has launched major reform efforts.
“We are working and moving very quickly to try to ensure that Myanmar
experiences a clear democracy dividend,” Kim said.
The World Bank chief said it had been difficult to find long term capital for
poorer countries but insisted: “We will show investors that sustainable energy
is an opportunity they cannot afford to miss.”
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