Trey Pollard trey.pollard@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Yesterday, in Bali, Indonesia, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim confirmed that the World Bank is officially not supporting a new coal-fired power plant in Kosovo. Asked by Visar Azemi, Executive Director of the Balkan Green Foundation, where the World Bank stood on its pending support of the proposed 500-megawatt Kosovo C coal-fired power plant, Dr. Kim confirmed the Bank would not be providing financing. Kosovo C is the last coal plant being considered for financing by the World Bank. The Bank is now out of coal for good.
At the 55:03 mark in this video, Dr. Kim declares “Yes, we have made a very firm decision not to go forward with the coal power plant because we are required by our by-laws to go with the lowest cost option, and renewables have now come below the cost of coal. So without question, we are not going to do that.”
Lignite coal is responsible for hundreds of premature deaths, tens of thousands of new cases of childhood respiratory diseases, and millions in healthcare costs each year.
The lack of World Bank financing virtually ensures the Kosovo C plant will not be built. The proposed plant would have burned lignite, a low-grade, low energy density, high-polluting form of coal. However, developers have already proposed wind, solar, and battery solutions that could provide the same amount of power at a lower cost and with less deadly pollution.
On the heels of the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that notes the most catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis can only be avoided with a path forward that phases out burning coal, the World Bank’s move to fully quit coal is a significant step forward. It comes after a decade-long fight led by Kosovar and European clean air activists like the KOSID, The Balkan Green Foundation, and the Bank Information Center Europe. For more on the advocacy efforts to stop this plant, click here.
In response, John Coequyt, Sierra Club’s Global Climate Policy director, released the following statement:
“The World Bank has quit coal and people in Kosovo and across the world will breath easier as a result. People in Kosovo have been working for a decade to stop the build out of a dangerous, expensive, and dirty coal plant in their backyards, and we applaud them today on this tremendous victory. Everyone around the world deserves clean air, clean water, and a stable climate, and this news makes clear that grassroots activism can win against corporate polluters all over the world. We applaud the Bank’s decision.
“This decision by the World Bank recognizes several key truths. First, the public doesn’t want dirty coal. Second, coal is a bad investment, because clean energy is cheaper than coal in places all over the world. Third, if we want to curb the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis, we have to move off coal immediately. This is the last coal plant the World Bank will ever consider financing, meaning that the Bank has joined a growing list of financial institutions that have recognized that dirty and expensive coal is simply an inferior choice for meeting energy needs, even in poorer countries. Now, the World Bank can focus on supporting clean, accessible, and affordable sources of energy like wind and solar all over the globe so the serious action that is required to curb the climate crisis can move forward.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.