Raiding development funding for climate

TOO many rich-world politicians and climate campaigners forget that much of the world remains mired in poverty and hunger. Yet, rich countries are increasingly replacing their development aid with climate spending.

The World Bank, whose primary goal is to help people out of poverty, has now announced that it will divert no less than 45 per cent of its funding towards climate change, shifting some US$40 billion annually away from poverty and hunger.

It’s easy to treat climate as the most pressing priority when your life is comfortable. The 16 per cent of the global population who live in those countries don’t typically go hungry or watch loved ones die of easily treatable conditions such as malaria or tuberculosis. Most are well-educated, and their average incomes are in the league of what was once reserved for royalty.