Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the World Bank’s support for subsidies for chemical fertiliser and pesticides in developing countries on the Government’s net zero commitments.

The World Bank has helped protect farmers in developing countries from the global impacts of fertiliser shortages which protected local production and food security. While this necessarily included access to traditional fertilisers, the World Bank introduced innovations to reduce fertiliser dependency. To support a transition away from carbon-intensive fertiliser usage in the future, the World Bank is planning major investments in green fertiliser production. The World Bank has committed to full alignment of all its sovereign lending with the Paris Agreement by 1 July 2023. They have also committed through the COP26 MDB Joint Nature Statement to mainstream nature in their policies, investments and operations, including developing a joint methodology for tracking 'nature positive' investments. We are holding the Bank to account on these commitments through the Board.