Photo: Gerald Simmons CC BY 2.0
Model Proposal:
Climate Change Assessment (CCA) Safeguard Policy
Submission to the World Bank Safeguard Policy Review
Unlike many institutions, the Bank has not yet formally integrated climate issues into its operational policies. Most notably, the current Safeguard Policy framework does not adequately address the challenges a changing climate presents to client governments, donor governments, affected communities, local ecosystems and the global commons. At present, the Bank lags behind other financial institutions that have gone further to integrate climate-related issues into their environmental and social policies, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and many bilateral and private-sector actors.
The Safeguard Policy Review presents an important opportunity for the Bank to adopt best practices for promoting low-carbon and resilient development in its operational policies by establishing a stand-alone safeguard policy on climate change. The existing Bank safeguards apply to all climate-related activities. This policy is not meant to supplant or weaken any of them; it rather covers aspects not already covered by the existing safeguards.
The signatories are pleased to submit this proposal for a policy on policy on climate change assessment (CCA) to the World Bank Safeguard Policy Review. This CCA policy proposal outlines some of the main priorities for the Bank to introduce as part of a stand-alone policy safeguard on climate change.
The priority reforms outlined in the proposal include:
- Establishing an effective CCA coverage to all Bank instruments;
- Ensuring climate change risk assessments for the country, sector, program, pre-project, project and post-project levels;
- Ensuring a policy architecture that preserves clear climate change requirements in all stages of the project cycle;
- Ensuring requirements for routine use of cumulative impact assessment;
- Ensuring the implementation of climate change management and/or action plans;
- Ensuring the environmental and social safeguards apply to climate change activities.
This initial policy statement is limited by the pending questions about policy architecture, scope, emerging issues and other aspects for which independent expert panels have been convened or the Bank has yet to signal its preferences. Our proposal will evolve as we learn more on the implementation of the World Bank Strategy, the development of the Country Partnership Framework, the internal change process, and the Bank indicates more clearly a direction for a new safeguard policy framework.
President Jim Kim has made it clear that the safeguard review will not entail any dilution of existing policies and that strong action on climate change is essential for the World Bank Group implementing the goals of its corporate strategy in ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Mainstreaming climate change risk assessments into all Bank lending is a clear existing deficiency that needs to be addressed, with the safeguards review presenting an important opportunity, and first step with which to do so.
This paper was drafted on the basis of the input provided by the signed organizations.
Climate Change Safeguard Model ProposalThis is a living document. BIC welcomes feedback from any stakeholders. BIC also welcomes any sign-ons on a rolling basis. Please contact: Nezir Sinani, nsinani@bicusa.org