Recent World Bank ‘climate loan’ dispute in Nepal is all about fairness and definitions

On 29 August 2022, the Government of Nepal signed a USD 100 million “concessional financing agreement” with the World Bank to support “green, resilient, and inclusive development (GRID)”. The accompanying press release on the agreement, equivalent to around NPR 13 billion, stated that it would be the first of three concessional loans to Nepal for the GRID.

But, activists in Kathmandu have perceived this as a ‘climate loan’ and launched a series of protests against it, arguing that Nepal should receive climate finance in the form of grants, not loans, given its minimal contribution to global climate change.