World Bank trying to find a balance between people and planet.

On Tuesday 16th July, the World Bank made a statement announcing that it plans to divest from coal plants except in exceptional circumstances. However the Bank's President Jim Yong Kim has pointed out that while it plans to invest in alternative energies it must not compromise its humanitarian responsibilities for the sake of the environment.

The pledge by the Bank is less than dramatic when you realise that it hasn't funded any major coal projects since 2010 when it invested $3 billion in a power plant near Johannesburg, South Africa. Still it is a marvelous statement to make and will surely set a precedent for other investors worldwide.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

The hope is that it will encourage governments in the Global South to invest in renewable energy projects, some of which (most obviously solar energy) would be ideally suited to regions south of the equator. And in fact the World Bank has invested a great deal in such projects in recent years.

The Bank's statement will also raise awareness of the friction which exists between our two most pressing priorities; lowering  carbon emissions  and minimizing climate destruction, and allowing for economic growth and human development in the global south.

How can both be achieved at once when they seem to be in such constant conflict with one another?

It is no secret that the vast majority of developing nations and regions are terminally over dependent on natural resources such as goal, gas, oil, timber, tin, gold and other "perishables". A great shift must be made away from these sources of income and toward wind power, solar power and hyrdro power systems. Unfortunately it is an undeniable truth that the technologies required for such projects are often out of reach for developing nations, as are the finances necessary to get them.

We certainly hope that this news from the World Bank might give countries in the Global South a fighting chance to divest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energies - boosting development and protecting our planet.