Move to help energy policies in developing countries
The World Bank’s board of directors has lifted a longstanding ban on financing nuclear power projects in what appears to be a policy shift aimed at supporting developing countries’ energy needs, several leading news outlets reported.
Bloomberg and the Financial Times said they have seen a note to World Bank staff from its president Ajay Banga saying the multilateral bank will “begin to re-enter the nuclear energy space” in partnership with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We will support efforts to extend the life of existing reactors in countries that already have them, and help support grid upgrades and related infrastructure,” Banga’s note said, according to the reports.
Banga also said the bank will work towards the acceleration of the potential of small modular reactors.
In March 2025, the head of the World Bank acknowledged he had asked the lender’s board to reverse its long-standing policy against funding nuclear power projects, saying the technology offers a green option for poor countries.
“The good news is the board has come together and said they’re willing to discuss” the change, said Banga at the time.
He said he expected the move to be included in a broader energy policy proposal expected in June 2026.
According to the Financial Times, the change in the World Bank’s stance on nuclear follows advocacy from the pro-nuclear Trump administration and the change of government in Germany, which had traditionally opposed nuclear power.
In April 2025, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told the Institute of International Finance that the US welcomed the World Bank’s announcements to seek a lifting of the ban on nuclear energy.
It could revolutionise energy supply for many emerging markets, Bessent said, adding: “We encourage the Bank to go further in giving countries access to all technologies that can provide affordable baseload generation.”
The nuclear industry has also repeatedly called for financial institutions to adapt and keep pace with growing market demand for nuclear energy.
Last year, Rafael Grossi, director-general of the IAEA, urged the World Bank to finance nuclear energy.
The World Bank’s decision can have a significant impact on public perception of nuclear energy, and can facilitate a shift by regional multilateral development banks in favour of financing nuclear, Elina Teplinsky, head of the energy industry group at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, wrote in a social media post.
The bank has only ever financed one nuclear power plant. In 1959 it financed construction of the Garigliano nuclear power plant in Italy. Garigliano was Italy’s first nuclear power plant and the bank’s loan financed almost two-thirds of the cost of construction.
In 2013, the World Bank officially decided to stop providing any funding for nuclear power projects, maintaining the ban on nuclear energy investments from that point forward.
