World Bank Approves $265 Million Loan for Morocco Hydropower Project

The World Bank board approved a $265 million loan on 1 July 2026 for Morocco’s 300 MW Ifahsa pumped-storage hydropower project. The facility is designed to integrate 1 GW of solar and wind capacity into the national grid, replace 3 TWh of fossil-fuel generation each year, and avoid 1.7 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

The approval came one day after the bank retired its 45 percent climate-finance spending target.

AllAfrica reported that the target was dropped following pressure from the United States, the institution’s largest shareholder. In the year ending 30 June 2026 the bank had directed 48 percent of its lending, or $51 billion, to climate-related projects, with more than one-third of that amount allocated to African countries. The bank’s five-year Climate Change Action Plan expired on 30 June 2026.

AllAfrica reported that the broader climate framework will now continue without an end date or numerical spending targets. ” Managing Director Paschal Donohoe told the Hamburg Sustainability Conference on 30 June that the bank would shift emphasis from tracking spending to monitoring project results.

“By announcing the extension of this truly essential framework, we are now focusing on how we can ensure monitoring and report on the results achieved, rather than simply keeping track of the money spent,” Donohoe said.

AllAfrica reported that the retired target had financed electricity, sustainable-transport and water projects in Madagascar, Tanzania and Niger in recent years. Selma Huart, an advocacy officer at Oxfam, told RFI that the absence of the numerical goal raised concerns that financing for adaptation in Africa could decline.