The World Bank Group has set new climate targets for 2021-2025, doubling its current five-year investments to around $200 billion in support for countries to take climate action.

The Agriculture sector is arguably the most important section of any economy as this chunk of the economy is involved in the cultivation of crops and the rearing of livestock for both commercial and domestic purposes.

The World Bank’s private investment arm has channeled more than $1.8 billion into major livestock and factory farming operations across the world over the past decade, despite calls for the global reduction of meat and dairy consumption due to its environmental and health impacts.

A report by the World Bank titled, Africa’s Pulse: Climate Change Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa Can Improve Resilience and Deliver Jobs, says that South Africa will need $215-billion — or roughly R3.7-trillion — in investment in its cities to mitigate and adapt to a heating world with a changing climate.

The World Bank has called for a sweeping overhaul of SA’s trade policy, urging the country to consider forging new trade agreements with advanced and emerging economies, including those in East Asia.