World Bank Supports Energy Transition and Job Creation in Brazil's Northeast Region

WASHINGTON, DC, May 15, 2026 - The World Bank's Board of Directors has approved a new project to catalyze investment in low-carbon industrial commodities, clean fuels, and enabling infrastructure in industrial and energy value chains in the Northeast region of Brazil, paving the way for increased competitiveness and employment.

The US$500 million loan from the World Bank anchors a total financing package of US$968 million, with additional financing support including a US$30 million concessional loan from the Climate Investment Funds' Clean Technology Fund, a US$10 million grant from the Livable Planet Fund, and a US$5 million grant from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). The project will also leverage over US$423 million in commercial financing.

Brazil's Northeast region holds some of the country's best renewable energy resources, yet it faces some of the higher poverty rates and lowest levels of industrialization in the country. This project will help the region leverage the region's renewable energy potential into broader economic opportunities, crowd in private investment, promote innovation, and create new and better jobs. By channeling financing through Banco do Nordeste, it will expand financing for first-of-a-kind and commercial demonstration projects in sectors such as sustainable aviation fuels, low-carbon fertilizers, steel, and cement, as well as common-user infrastructure needed to enable these investments. The project seeks to address market barriers that continue to limit investment in innovation in these sectors, including high upfront costs, technology risks, lack of supporting infrastructure, and constrained access to long-term finance.

The package goes beyond financing of projects to promote the longer-term sustainability of the targeted markets by providing grant funding for research and development, and for studies to help build a pipeline of bankable projects.

The project is aligned with Brazil's industrial, energy and climate policy priorities, including the New Industry Brazil policy, which promotes green jobs through industrial innovation and competitiveness, and the Northeast Energy Plan, which aims to create and up to two million jobs linked to the renewable economy, and is designed to help translate the region's energy transition into sustained economic growth and better jobs for the people and communities that stand to benefit most.

"Brazil's Northeast has all the ingredients to become a global leader in the energy transition. Through this partnership with Banco do Nordeste, we are not only expanding access to cleaner energy, we are helping turn the region's natural wealth into jobs, innovation, and lasting economic opportunity. The World Bank is proud to support Brazil in this effort," said Cécile Fruman, World Bank Country Director for Brazil.

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