{"word_count": 132, "character_count": 1055}
Retrofitting coal-fired power plants in middle-income countries: What role for the World Bank? / Nigel Purvis, Abigail Jones and Cecilia Springer. Brookings Institution, July 2014, 12 p.http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2014/07/coal-fired-power-plants-middle-income-countries-world-bank-purvisPresentation (© Brookings Institution) :In July 2013, the World Bank decided to phase-out lending for new coal-fired power plants in middle-income countries, except in rare circumstances where no financially feasible alternatives to coal exist. This decision was made for a combination of reasons including concerns about local air pollution and global climate change, as well as evidence that these projects have little trouble attracting private capital without World Bank involvement. Now, policymakers are considering whether the World Bank’s policy should also cover projects designed to retrofit existing coal-fired power plants in middle-income countries by adding scrubbers and other technologies that increase efficiency and reduce air pollution.