Greenwashing exposed

International lenders, organisations must be held accountable for perpetuating environmental degradation

The hollow echoes of sustainability and resilience rhetoric emanating from international lenders and organisations like IMF and World Bank are becoming increasingly deafening against the backdrop of their devastating role in exacerbating the global climate crisis. The recent exposé by the Alternative Law Collective, Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy, and Recourse peels back the veneer of greenwashing, revealing a stark reality of misplaced priorities and counterproductive interventions.

These financial giants, often touted as champions of responsible financing, stand accused of perpetuating a destructive trajectory. Despite the urgent need for a transition to renewable energy, successive interventions by the IMF and World Bank have locked nations into unsustainable dependence on fossil fuels. Their myopic approach, as highlighted in the report, not only undermines the global efforts to curb carbon emissions but actively contributes to the intensification of climate-related disasters. The rhetoric of sustainability collapses further when examining the impact of the phased-out consumer energy subsidies, which have led to inflation in the wake of natural disasters, such as the 2022 floods. The toll on human lives and the economy highlights the dissonance between the stated goals of these international lenders and the real-world consequences of their actions. Perhaps most damning is the lack of self-reflection within these institutions. The absence of diagnostic studies on their role in perpetuating climate-averse frameworks and the reluctance to take a clear stance on local coal in the Country Climate Development Report 2022 epitomise an alarming indifference to the realities of climate change.

As the climate crisis worsens, the facade of sustainability and resilience must be dismantled. International lenders and organisations must be held accountable for their role in perpetuating environmental degradation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2023.

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