WASHINGTON, May 31, 2023 ¡ª ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳¡¯s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$255 million loan today to support a program that will reduce methane emissions, improve irrigation and drainage services, and provide agricultural support for climate-resilient rice production in Hunan province, China¡¯s largest rice production area.
The contributes to global public goods, in particular climate change mitigation, and creation of replicable and scalable knowledge and experiences for China and other rice-growing countries globally by developing a sustainable model for rice-growing.
China is the world¡¯s largest rice producer and consumer. Rice is a major contributor to methane emissions, accounting for 16% of China¡¯s emissions of the gas. Lessons from the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳-supported program will inform scale up of low-methane and water-saving rice production in Hunan and policymaking in other parts of the country. The program is anchored in the government¡¯s Hunan High Standard Farmland Construction Program (HSFCP) which seeks to reduce methane emissions while also improving the climate resilience of rice production. The program will strengthen the Provincial government¡¯s management system for sustainable and low-methane paddy rice production.
¡°The Methane-Reducing and Water-Saving Paddy Rice Program will provide innovative solutions to promote climate mitigation in China¡¯s agriculture sector,¡± said Mara Warwick, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Country Director for China, Mongolia, and Korea. ¡°The program provides an integrated approach that will benefit the farmers and the environment, and deliver global benefits by creating incentives for behavior change.¡±
ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳-supported program is a Program for Results (PforR) operation, Program financing over five years is expected to be US$1.24 billion, of which US$988 million will be financed by the Chinese government and US$255 million by a ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Loan.
The program is in line with the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳¡¯s , which aims to help China promote greener growth and contribute to global public goods, in particular reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating replicable global knowledge. In line with the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group¡¯s efforts to address China¡¯s interrelated climate and development challenges, the program will enhance the climate resilience and low-carbon development in rural areas, as well as contribute to reducing food system-related greenhouse gas emissions, as highlighted in the recent China Country Climate and Development Report.
For more about the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ program in China, please visit: www.worldbank.org/china
