On Friday, World Bank President Ajay Banga said the Bank intends to increase the amount it will lend to climate-related projects, from its current target of 35% of its annual financing to 45% by the year 2025, and following climate disasters, it will institute a policy of extending debt repayment pauses.

Banga announced the change at the COP28 summit in Dubai, as one part of a broader overhaul the Bank is performing to better deal with global crises such as climate change.

Banga said, “We’re putting our ambition in overdrive and putting to work more than $40 billion per year — around $9 billion more than the original target.”

The plan would entail deploying resources equally for climate mitigation and adaptation in the banks lending division, the International Bank for Reconstruction (IBRD), and its fund for impoverished countries, the International Development Association (IDA).

Banga also announced the Bank would be broadening the scope of Climate Resilient Debt Clauses in the loans it offered to cover all existing World Bank loans for the most vulnerable nations.

The clauses allow for repayments to be paused or suspended if there are climate-related disasters which drain a nation’s resources, such as cyclones or floods.

Banga said the pauses would not only cover the repayment of the principal, but also interest payments on the debt, which would leave leaders free to focus on providing the public with access to food, water, power, and other necessities for the recovery.

The bank under Banga is now focusing its efforts on expanding programs to help afflicted nations cope with issues such as climate change and hunger, as it changes its balance sheet rules and seeks out new funding to increase its lending power.