{"id":50601,"date":"2024-04-16T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T08:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=50601"},"modified":"2024-04-18T09:21:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T08:21:51","slug":"world-bank-climate-funding-greens-african-hotels-while-fishermen-sink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2024\/04\/16\/world-bank-climate-funding-greens-african-hotels-while-fishermen-sink\/","title":{"rendered":"World Bank climate funding greens African hotels while fishermen sink"},"content":{"rendered":"

The spotless white-sand beach of Le Lamantin luxury resort in Saly, about 90 kilometres south of Senegal\u2019s capital Dakar, is lined with neat rows of sun loungers and parasols.<\/strong> Here, holidaymakers enjoy jet-skiing, catamaran-sailing and spa therapy, unaware that their hotel is benefiting from international climate finance channelled through the World Bank Group.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Just a few kilometres further south, however, local fishermen in Mbour, the country\u2019s second-largest fishing port, are struggling. The beaches where they keep their boats are being progressively eaten away by rising seas that also threaten their homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The stark contrast between the neighbouring coastal areas highlights how global funding for climate projects – largely taxpayers\u2019 money from rich countries – often fails to help those shouldering the burden of warming impacts, especially when it is being used to mobilise more private investment for green aims.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey prioritise Saly because the hotels are wealthy,\u201d said Saliou Diouf, a retired fisherman who lost his house in Mbour to encroaching waves. \u201cThe World Bank should help the most vulnerable.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Map showing the location of the neighbouring communities of Saly and Mbour on Senegal’s coast (Graphic: Fanis Kollias)<\/p><\/div>\n

Le Lamantin<\/span><\/a> is one of a dozen upscale hotels in sub-Saharan Africa acquired by Mauritius-based Kasada Hospitality Fund LP – whose investors are Qatar\u2019s sovereign wealth fund and multinational hotel giant Accor – which it is revamping in accordance with EDGE, a green building certification created by the World Bank.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kasada was granted over $190 million in guarantees by the World Bank Group\u2019s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and loans of up to $160 million by its private-sector lender, the International Finance Corporation, to help it snap up hotels across Kenya, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Namibia and Senegal, and spruce them up as Accor brands like M\u00f6venpick.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The M\u00f6venpick Resort Lamantin Saly, where a standard hotel room costs about \u00a3220 a night (Photo: Jack Thompson)<\/p><\/div>\n

MIGA, the little-known insurance arm of the World Bank Group, has counted its backing for the hotels as part of its climate efforts for the past three years, according to annual <\/span>sustainability reports<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The five-star resort in the West African nation of Senegal, where rooms cost at least <\/span>\u00a3220 a night<\/span><\/a> ($270), is being refurbished to consume at least 20% less energy and water than other comparable buildings by its owner Kasada, which expects it to obtain EDGE certification this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa Anderson, global lead on climate justice for ActionAid International, told Climate Home it is \u201cshocking that what little funds there are for climate action are benefiting luxury hotels\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Ver esta publicaci\u00f3n en Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Una publicaci\u00f3n compartida de M\u00f6venpick Resort Lamantin Saly (@movenpicklamantinsaly)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n