The right to access information: Transparency is a two-way process
February 24, 2021 | Read more
Publish What You Fund’s DFI Transparency Initiative is finalising its latest working paper on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and accountability to communities. Ahead of its publication, Fran Witt (Economic Justice and Climate Change Consultant) and Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath (EBRD Policy Officer, Bankwatch) provide a CSO perspective on the transparency and accountability challenges for public development banks (PDBs). They argue that PDBs have much work to do in order to meet their commitments to the rights of project-affected communities.
Citizens from South Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, will be waiting with their whole hearts for the results of the upcoming EBRD Board meeting on 25 February. The meeting agenda has an item that will affect the lives of people in that area – Corridor Vc in FBH – Part 3 – Operation Change Report. In the week before the decision the EBRD client, JP Autoceste, in collaboration with the bank, has attempted to demonstrate support for the currently selected valley route, while excluding and marginalising local opponents.
Public partnership is a precondition for a green recovery
February 18, 2021 | Read more
With less than three months to go before national recovery and resilience plans must be submitted, Member States still refuse to consult with stakeholders about how they plan to spend nearly EUR 700 billion to deliver a green and sustainable recovery. Meanwhile, the European Commission has provided little clarity on its commitment to enforce strong consultation standards when assessing each recovery plan.
Upgrades to the coal power plants in the Western Balkans that would bring down sulphur dioxide emissions are rare. But even where investments have been made, they have so far failed to deliver the much-needed results.
Poland’s recovery planning lacks public consultation and transparency
February 10, 2021 | Read more
With EUR 57 billion at stake, a letter from environmental CSOs urges the Polish Prime Minister to open the planning process for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to the public.
The public is still paying, hydropower operators are still profiting
January 27, 2021 | Read more
More than a year after Bankwatch revealed the scale of hydropower subsidies in the Western Balkans, progress in eliminating environmentally harmful aid is still slow.
