Tracking decarbonization of multilateral development banks’ electricity generation investments

Multilateral development banks' (MDBs) commitment to the Paris Agreement (PA) was expected to induce a shift from fossil fuel-based to sustainable energy sources in the Global South. However, we lack a comprehensive analysis of their electricity generation portfolios and internal policies since then. This paper presents two new datasets on 1,230 electricity generation investments and 215 decarbonization policies adopted by all MDBs from 2006 to 2020. We find a continued decline in fossil fuel investment since the PA but no change in pace. The volume of investment in renewables (including hydropower) has not increased enough to compensate for the phaseout, resulting in a downward trend in MDB electricity generation investments over time. The number of renewable projects funded by MDBs, however, has substantially grown. These findings raise concerns about MDBs' ability to scale up clean electricity investments, particularly in low-income countries, where the energy investment gap continues to grow.