Phasing out coal could cost up to $ 13 trillion

World Bank Vice Axel van Trotsenburg is a veteran of his organization. The 62-year-old Managing Director already led negotiations on debt relief for the poorest countries (HIPC initiative) for the World Bank in the 1990s. In an interview with Handelsblatt, van Trotsenberg takes the rich industrial nations into court: They would have to help poorer countries fight climate change if the world wanted to meet the Paris climate targets.

The World Bank manager points to the enormous costs of phasing out coal, which he estimates at up to $ 13 trillion in Asia alone over the next 20 years. Van Trotzenberg also warns of the collateral damage caused by climate change, which, according to World Bank forecasts, threatens the political stability of many developing countries and could plunge an additional 100 million people into poverty.