Post Mubarak, US aid to Egypt takes new shape
al-masri al-youm | May 26, 2011The new chapter in the history of US aid to Egypt involves a new but untested model that will focus on lending to small Egyptian businesses while encouraging focused investments chosen by the US.
EBRD agrees to start process for N.Africa expansion
Reuters | May 21, 2011ASTANA (Reuters) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development agreed on Saturday to begin the process of expanding lending into the Middle East and North Africa, following a string of popular revolts in the Arab world.
EBRD Votes to Extend Lending Program
Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones | May 21, 2011ASTANA, Kazakhstan—The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Saturday adopted a resolution to expand operations to lend to fledgling democracies in the Middle East and north Africa, following the wave of uprisings that has rocked the region and toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.
EBRD confirms Moscow road financing as battle rages
Emerging Markets | May 20, 2011The development bank said that it remains interested in financing a controversial Russian motorway project, despite violent attacks on protestors.
Vingt après la chute de l’URSS, la Berd voit toujours de gros défis à l’Est
Agence France Presse (AFP) | May 20, 2011ASTANA — Près de vingt ans après l’implosion de l’URSS, la Berd a souligné vendredi les immenses défis économiques qui restent à surmonter dans les pays de l’ex-bloc socialiste, lors de son assemblée annuelle organisée au Kazakhstan.
European Development Bank Looks to Help North Africa
New York Times | May 20, 2011FRANKFURT — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, long focused on promoting democracy in central Europe and the former Soviet Union through loans to business, is likely to extend its mandate to North Africa as part of a broader push by Europe and the United States to help countries in the region.
Assessing the EBRD 20 years on
Environmental Finance | May 12, 2011The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has an explicit environmental mandate. But, 20 years after its creation, how is it doing? There’
EU project bonds: More smoke and mirrors at taxpayer’s expense
EurActiv | May 5, 2011European Commission proposals to introduce project bonds are beset by deficiencies and shrouded in commercial secrecy, write Isabella Besedova of the CEE Bankwatch Network in an exclusive op-ed for EurActiv.
Russia’s Khimki Forest Threatened by Highway Project
The Nation | May 4, 2011Time is running out for Russian activists hoping to stop the construction of a highway through an old growth forest outside of Moscow. In an eleventh hour campaign, the Movement to Defend Khimki Forest is targeting the French company overseeing the controversial project. Vinci, one of Europe’s largest corporations, signed the contract for the Moscow-St. Petersburg motorway in 2009 and could begin the first phase of development this month. The 43-kilometer section will slice through the heart of an old growth oak forest, an important corridor for large game and home to numerous endangered plant species, as well as a cherished greenbelt on the edge of one of the world’s most polluted cities.
How can governments and industry win public support for new low-carbon technologies?
Comment Visions | April 26, 2011As a start, lumping together all low-carbon technologies is not the most advisable approach to win public support for new, low-carbon technologies.