At talks in Abu Dhabi today, the US and EU are pushing for the new loss and damage fund to be hosted by the World Bank.
As a board member of a fund hosted by the World Bank, I want to warn them. Being hosted by the World Bank is expensive and it erodes your independence and identity.
I’m the civil society representative on the board of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), which channels around $5 billion of funding to education projects in low and lower-middle income countries.
The fund has been hosted by the World Bank for about 20 years. For over twelve of those years, there have been recurrent board discussions about moving the fund out of the World Bank and the board will discuss this again next month.
Expensive
The costs of being hosted by the World Bank are one of the most significant concerns. In recent years, the core administrative charge paid to the World Bank for hosting the GPE has been rising.
At one point, the bank charged 12% of the GPE’s income. A few years ago, this went up to 17% and then the bank tried to increase it to 24%. This provoked outrage from the GPE board who negotiated it down to 20.5%.
GPE are told this is an exceptional arrangement and that all other funds hosted by the World Bank are being charged 24%.
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If the loss and damage fund was to be hosted by the World Bank and if it was to get the $100 billion a year which developing countries are demanding, then $24 billion of this would go to the World Bank rather than addressing loss and damage.
This figure could go up at any time. Once you agree to be hosted, it seems the World Bank can change the rules and increase the levies.
One of the main reasons the World Bank’s fees are going up is because because of a wider financing crisis in the World Bank owing to the cost of its final salary pension scheme from the 1970s to 1990s.
In effect GPE funds, raised in the name of education, are paying for luxurious retirements for ex World Bank employees who left work before GPE was even created.
These direct costs are exacerbated by other costs. The GPE has to follow the excessive and hierarchical salary structure of the World Bank – with all staff being employees of the World Bank – and effectively having to pledge loyalty to the Bank.
The costs of having the main office in Washington DC are considerably higher than most other locations. The travel, security and insurance costs are also high – with most staff flying business class and staying in five-star hotels.
Not independent
In 2012, an independent review of the GPE’s hosting arrangements raised the problem of having a GPE secretariat serving two masters.
The GPE board is relatively democratic and it should be able to develop its own strategy, policies and procedures. Being hosted by the World Bank limits this.
When the GPE board agreed to expand the staffing of the GPE secretariat, this was directly blocked by the World Bank who had a recruitment freeze in place.
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More broadly, being hosted by the World Bank ‘means operating within the business model of the host’ (as flagged in the 2012 review). This includes following very heavy procurement and recruitment processes.
While some see it as a benefit that funds can draw on the World Bank’s expertise, this is not always neutral and it often comes with a certain perspective and even ideological baggage.
For example, the GPE has a strong position about not supporting any for-profit education provision – but agreeing this position was difficult when the World Bank itself was supporting one of the most problematic for-profit actors.
Loss of identity
Being hosted by the World Bank takes away a fund’s identity it country level. Many see the GPE as just another World Bank project.
This seems to be a view also held by some World Bank country managers. One particularly problematic dimension of this is that when countries want World Bank funds for education, they are encouraged to use the GPE pot – displacing other funds for education.
Something similar could happen with loss and damage or wider climate finance. The World Bank could see itself as absolved of any wider responsibility if it takes on the loss and damage fund.
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It is not a surprise that the US and Europeans are keen to see the loss and damage fund hosted by the World Bank.
It would give them more control. It would fit within their business model and comfort zone for such structures.
But it would be a disaster from the point of view of effective action on loss and damage. We must avoid the mistakes made by the GPE.
David Archer is Action Aid’s head of programmes and the civil society representative on the board of the Global Partnership for Education.
The post Avoid our mistake: Don’t let World Bank host loss and damage fund appeared first on Climate Home News.
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2023/11/03/avoid-our-mistake-dont-let-world-bank-host-loss-and-damage-fund/
Climate Change
‘Self-serving tosh’: Woodside’s Browse gas would derail energy transition and wreck Scott Reef
SYDNEY, Monday 11 May 2026 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has branded Woodside’s Browse gas report released to media today as being “so ludicrous it reads like satire” and a dangerous distraction from the urgent action needed to save Scott Reef and address soaring emissions.
The report states Woodside’s Browse offshore gas drilling project at Scott Reef would have no impact on Western Australia’s net zero targets, as the state was on track to miss them anyway.
Hannah Schuch, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Woodside’s report is so ludicrous it reads like satire. It is nothing but the self-serving tosh expected from a multinational gas corporation exploiting the global energy crisis to drill for more expensive, volatile and polluting gas to export for profit.
“Claiming a massive carbon bomb would somehow help the net zero transition is delusional. If Woodside’s reckless Browse gas project went ahead, it would be one of the most polluting projects in the country and turn one of Australia’s last pristine oceanic reef systems, Scott Reef, into an industrial gas zone.
“The WA EPA already made an initial finding that Woodside’s plan to drill at least 50 wells near Scott Reef, home to nesting sea turtles, endangered pygmy blue whales and other endangered species, posed unacceptable risks to the environment.
“Most recently, independent scientific experts demonstrated that Woodside’s amended plans do nothing for the survival of these key threatened species found at Scott Reef but just tinker around the edges. For Woodside to flaunt these plans as a win for net zero, is flabbergasting and frankly insulting.
“Woodside continuously fails to deliver gas to West Australians. According to the DomGas Alliance less than 4% of gas from Woodside’s Pluto facility has been supplied to the local market — far short of the 15% requirement.
“The global energy crisis has laid bare the dangers of fossil fuel dependence. WA has access to world-class renewable energy resources, which modelling shows could power the state’s homes, hospitals and key industries with clean, cheap and affordable energy. WA has a choice: displace gas with renewables, or displace renewables with gas.
“Environment Minister Murray Watt has a responsibility to protect the environment and put an end to this dangerous project once and for all. Minister Watt and the Albanese government’s environmental credentials ride on protecting Scott Reef from Woodside’s dirty gas for good.
“Greenpeace is calling for Murray Watt to listen to the half a million Australians that have asked him to stop this nature and climate-wrecking project and protect Scott Reef for generations to come.”
-ENDS-
Media contact
Emma Sangalli on emma.sangalli@greenpeace.org or 0431 513 465
Kate O’Callaghan on kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org or 0406 231 892
‘Self-serving tosh’: Woodside’s Browse gas would derail energy transition and wreck Scott Reef
Climate Change
DeBriefed 15 April 2026: Trump-Xi talk energy | ‘Supercharged’ El Niño | India’s first ‘heat lounges’
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
US-China meet
ENERGY TALKS: Trump administration officials have raised the prospect of China buying more US oil in response to the disruption caused by the Iran war, following two days of talks between the leaders of the superpowers in Beijing, said Reuters. On Thursday, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the nations had discussed China “buying more US energy”, adding that production from Alaska would be a “natural” for China. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that Trump and Xi also agreed that the strait of Hormuz must remain open to “support the free flow of energy”.
CLIMATE ‘COOPERATION’: Ahead of the talks, the Communist party-affiliated People’s Daily published an article saying that addressing climate change requires “coordinated efforts and cooperation” between China and the US. State-run newspaper China Daily said that US-China cooperation on energy security and climate governance is “essential” because the two countries have “considerable influence over international institutions”. However, an article in Legal Planet said that the Trump-Xi meeting had no climate agenda, adding that the two countries are now moving in “radically different directions”.
El Niño extremes
‘SUPERCHARGED’: From wildfires to heatwaves and flooding, scientists have warned that the El Niño weather pattern could “amplify climate extremes” in 2026, reported Climate Home News. There is an 82% chance of a “very strong” El Niño forming this year, according to the average of four weather forecasters cited by the Times. The Independent added that the phenomenon could be “supercharged” by another weather pattern – a positive Indian Ocean Dipole – raising the risks of fire, drought risks and other extreme weather events.
WORLD ON FIRE: Global fire outbreaks hit a “record high” in Africa, Asia and elsewhere this year, reported Reuters, with conditions expected to worsen to the “highest in recent history” if a strong El Niño “kicks in”. More than 150m hectares of land were damaged by fires from January to April – 20% more than the previous record – according to data compiled by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group cited by the newswire.
Around the world
- ETHIOPIA EVS: Electric vehicles now account for 8% of Ethiopia’s car fleet as “soaring prices and fuel shortages compel” African countries to switch to “cleaner and cheaper transport”, according to the Associated Press.
- UK AID CUT: The UK has halved its most recent contribution to the UN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) as part of a government “shift from development aid to military spending”, according to Climate Home News. The UK is no longer the top donor to the GCF following the move, said Carbon Brief.
- TORT RETORT: Reuters reported that the New Zealand government plans to amend a key climate law, to prevent courts from holding private companies liable for climate harms. This would apply to “both current and future proceedings”, the newswire said, including a current case against six major emitters.
- RENEWABLE SECURITY: Military alliance NATO is “openly backing renewables and other non-fossil fuel sources of energy as key to the alliance’s security” despite US scepticism, reported Politico. The outlet covered a NATO-backed study that highlighted how imported fuels have been used as a “bargaining chip” in conflicts.
- NO INDIAN ‘LOCKDOWN’: India’s oil-and-gas minister “dismissed concerns of any imminent lockdown-like restrictions” after prime minister Narendra Modi “urged citizens” to adopt fuel-saving measures amid a global energy crisis, reported the Economic Times.
One billion barrels
The volume of oil the world has lost over the past two months since Iran began its blockade of the strait of Hormuz following attacks by the US and Israel, according to Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, quoted in Reuters.
Latest climate research
- Antarctic sea ice levels have plummeted to “record-low anomalies” since 2015, with researchers calling it “one of the largest present-day climatic shifts in the Earth system” | Science Advances
- Rainfall reductions in the southern Amazon will occur at progressively lower levels of deforestation as the planet warms, indicating that “climate change amplifies the sensitivity of rainfall to forest loss” | Global Ecology and Biogeography
- Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the total toll from heat and cold in Europe | Nature Health
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
Contrary to claims by the UK car industry that demand is not high enough to meet the UK government’s sales targets for “zero emissions vehicles” (ZEVs), a new Carbon Brief factcheck found it has actually “overcomplied” with its mandate. The chart above shows the required (left) and achieved (right) share of ZEVs in total UK car sales in 2024, the latest figures available. “Flexibilities” (in light blue) include the sale of lower-emission petrol cars.
Spotlight
Chennai’s gig workers race against the heat
This week, Carbon Brief visits one of India’s first air-conditioned lounges designed to help gig workers deal with extreme heat.
On a single day in late April, 20 of the world’s hottest cities were all in India.
Chennai was not on the list this time, but is no stranger to high temperatures. In the south-eastern coastal capital of Tamil Nadu, extreme humidity and heat are inescapable facts of life.
“The heat is by no means manageable, but we have no choice but to deal with it,” said Mohammed S, a 29-year-old grocery platform delivery worker, speaking to Carbon Brief.
Last year, Chennai became India’s first ever city to roll out air-conditioned lounges for millions of gig workers, like Mohammed, navigating India’s increasingly hotter cities.
Lounge access
In the dense shopping district of T Nagar – recognised as an “urban heat island” – studded with silk sari and jewellery shops, an unassuming oblong container-like structure stands out.
Through the building’s tinted windows, workers wearing synthetic jerseys emblazoned with food delivery app logos are stretched out on wooden benches meant to seat 25 people.
The lounge has charging points for phones, a water cooler and a unisex toilet. It might not seem like much, but workers tell Carbon Brief that it has made a “huge difference” to their lives – even on a day when the air conditioner stopped working.
“Before this, life was very difficult,” said Mohammed. He continued:
“We would park our [electric] bikes and try to find a tree to sleep under, stop for tea and tea shop owners would tell us we couldn’t sit there for more than 10 minutes, try to rest in a building’s stairwell and be chased away, then try to find shade under a flyover. Now we can sit in the AC and avoid the worst of the heat.”
Dinesh, 27, said his day starts at dawn before the sun is up, picking up packages from companies in north Chennai – another critical heat hotspot.
For the next seven hours, there is no “off point” or breaks for Dinesh as apps rush deliveries.
Some of Chennai’s gig workers told Carbon Brief they try to avoid the worst of afternoon temperatures from noon to 3pm, but for many – especially migrant workers – sitting back in the lounge is not a choice they can afford. One of them explained:
“If you don’t have cash to cover your bills or have to send money back home, you head out into the heat for a 12-hour shift and hope for the best.”
Feeling ‘gear’
In Chennai, heat might be normalised, but it has its own vocabulary. Speaking to Carbon Brief, the city’s gig workers, auto rickshaw drivers and fish sellers used an all-encompassing term – “gear” – to describe their symptoms, including dizziness, exhaustion and nausea.
Last summer, researchers offered Delhi’s gig workers a Rs 200 (roughly £2) cash transfer on the first day of a heatwave, to provide them with a means to achieve “real-time” adaptation to heat risk. Workers who received a cash transfer reported fewer heat-related symptoms, according to the study.
Asked if they would accept similar incentives to stay home on 40C days, workers in the T Nagar lounge expressed disbelief. Dinesh – who also trains technicians on how to repair air conditioners to support his income – told Carbon Brief:
“They [the apps] offer us incentives to go out in the heat when there are fewer riders.”
Barring a few, none of the dozens of outdoor workers Carbon Brief spoke to had an air conditioner at home or in their hostels, making the lounge the only place they could cool down.
Watch, read, listen
THE BIG ‘LOSER’: Writing in Foreign Affairs, Princeton University’s Prof Benjamin Bardlow argued that Beijing “may emerge from the war in Iran as its winner – and Washington its ultimate loser”.
CARBON ‘KINGPIN’: A new podcast by Drilled followed Bruce Rastetter – a corn ethanol “kingpin-turned-carbon entrepreneur” from Iowa – now promoting biofuels and carbon-capture projects in Brazil.
OPEC ‘DRAMA KINGS’: An episode of the Polycrisis podcast, titled “Gulf drama kings”, dug into the UAE’s announcement that it was quitting oil producers’ cartel OPEC, asking whether this reflected “doom” for the group, geopolitical tensions, or “different beliefs” about the future of oil.
Coming up
- 17 May: Cape Verde election
- 17-22 May: 13th session of the World Urban Forum, Baku, Azerbaijan
- 20-21 May:Copenhagen climate ministerial
Pick of the jobs
- Greenpeace, communications and engagement co-head (climate) | Salary: £63,756-£67,644. Location: London
- Global Witness, deputy director of campaigns (one-year contract) | Salary: £75,886. Location: London
- Karolinska Institute, research assistant in climate attribution and health | Salary: Unknown. Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- Greenpeace South Asia, climate researcher | Salary: Unknown. Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 15 April 2026: Trump-Xi talk energy | ‘Supercharged’ El Niño | India’s first ‘heat lounges’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Climate Change
The Tennessee Valley Authority Produced a Booklet Downplaying Coal Ash Risks. Top Researchers Call it ‘Dishonest.’
TVA employees distributed the 35-page booklet at a public hearing about corrective action plans for coal ash ponds at the Cumberland Fossil Plant in Tennessee.
A 35-page booklet distributed in a public meeting by the Tennessee Valley Authority about coal ash is filled with “lies” and misleading information, according to coal ash researchers.
‘Self-serving tosh’: Woodside’s Browse gas would derail energy transition and wreck Scott Reef
DeBriefed 15 April 2026: Trump-Xi talk energy | ‘Supercharged’ El Niño | India’s first ‘heat lounges’
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