Defenders of the bank say that its concerns over climate change are more than verbiage: of the $7.5 billion it lent for energy projects in 2008, a respectable $2.7 billion went to efforts aimed at saving energy or boosting renewable power. This was twice as much as it had lent for such projects in 2007. Admittedly, the bank does also fund coal-fired projects, but it insists that wherever possible, it will opt for greener forms of power.

Earlier this year, a (public) report by the IEG said the bank could congratulate itself on promoting energy efficiency. But as it recognised, this success did not mean everyone's heart had turned green: rising fuel prices had made energy saving an easy sell in many countries. And this benign atmosphere may not last. There are poor countries that see environmentalism as a luxury that hurts their immediate growth prospects. On June 22nd Ethiopia blamed power cuts on the World Bank's refusal to fund a 60MW diesel generator.

David Wheeler, a former World Bank economist who is now at the Centre for Global Development, a think-tank, says such tensions are bound to persist. The bank's regional units are under pressure to meet lending targets and get money out to governments. In that culture, the bank's bureaucrats won't work too hard on goals that hold little appeal for client countries.

Still, when countries want to act over climate change, the bank can do a lot to assist. Mexico, for example, has sought help with cutting energy use in city transport and producing cleaner power. The bank is lending it $500m in low-interest credits out of a $5.2 billion Clean Technology Fund to finance new bus networks, replacing the gas-guzzlers that clog Mexico's roads.

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