World Bank chief: Obama’s inaugural speech could ‘reignite’ climate push

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim hopes that President Obama’s climate-heavy inaugural speech will be a shot in the arm for efforts to prevent catastrophic global warming.

“Strong leadership must come from the six big economies that account for two-thirds of the energy sector’s global carbon dioxide emissions. President Obama’s reference in his inaugural address this week to addressing climate and energy could help reignite this critical conversation domestically and abroad,” he writes in a Washington Post op-ed.

Obama’s speech raised hopes among environmentalists that the president will take aggressive executive actions in his second term as emissions-capping legislation remains a non-starter in Congress.

Kim’s op-ed lays out several priorities to put the planet on a lower emissions trajectory, including the end of a $500 billion annually in global subsidies for fossil fuels and another $500 billion in other subsidies “often related to agriculture and water, that are, ultimately, environmentally harmful.”

“The world’s top priority must be to get finance flowing and get prices right on all aspects of energy costs to support low-carbon growth. Achieving a predictable price on carbon that accurately reflects real environmental costs is key to delivering emission reductions at scale. Correct energy pricing can also provide incentives for investments in energy efficiency and cleaner energy technologies,” he writes.

The World Bank, in November, released a major report warning that the planet may be heading for a 4 degree Celsius (7.2 degree Fahrenheit) temperature rise by 2100 that would bring unprecedented heatwaves, droughts and floods.