IsDB chief in Jakarta: A US$2.56 billion plan with a missing climate pillar

Dr Muhammad Al Jasser, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, spent four days in Jakarta, from 7 to 10 October 2026. The IsDB is a development bank owned by 57 mostly Muslim countries. It pays for roads, hospitals and farms using Islamic finance rules, which avoid interest. He left behind a five-year plan worth billions of dollars. It is a useful plan with one large hole. In a country that is among the most exposed to climate change, the plan has no climate pillar. On 8 October, Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara launched the partnership strategy for 2026 to 2030, the fourth of its kind. The bank attached an “indicative” figure of about US$2.56 billion. Indicative means a target, […]