World Bank Lifts Ban on Nuclear Power, Considers Upstream Gas

The World Bank’s board lifted its ban on supporting nuclear power, and is discussing whether to fund natural gas exploration and production, as it seeks ways to bolster access to electricity to realize its core development goals.

Meeting rising power demand is “one of the most urgent and complex development challenges we face,” the bank’s president, Ajay Banga, said in a staff note viewed by Bloomberg.

The shift on nuclear power, adopted by the bank’s executive board on Tuesday, will be done in conjunction with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Banga said. The work would intend to “extend ...