So much is going on in the world of business and sustainability that no one can keep up with it all. I’ve decided, as a result, to occasionally feature guest posts  from smart people who follow topics I don’t. Today’s post comes from Mindy Lubber of Ceres, a coalition of institutional investors and environmental groups that works to integrate sustainability into capital markets. Mindy has spoken at FORTUNE’s Brainstorm Green conference, and she’s one of those people who moves easily between the world of advocacy and the realities of corporate America. Her topic today is the folly of financing new coal plants in the developing world.

In Washington, it’s a popular climate conundrum everyone talks about: Even if the U.S. lowers its greenhouse gas emissions, China and India are on track to dwarf the entire Western World’s as they build enormous coal-fired power plants. Politicians regularly say we must get China and India to use less coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels, to power their emerging economies.

But who do you think is financing all these new coal plants in the developing world?

Try the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other international public financial institutions supported by the world’s wealthiest nations.
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