Following Bankwatch’s revelations about toxic pollutants at the Tsumeb smelter in Namibia, the smelter’s owner, Canadian mining company Dundee Precious Metals (DPM), contested our findings in Namibian news reports. Without substantiating its claims with facts, however, and in light of the results of local health surveys the company’s reassurances ring hollow and meaningless.
9 reasons why the EU’s bank is no climate leader
December 8, 2015 | Read more
The European Investment Bank’s track record stands in stark contrast to its pose as a hero in the fight against climate change.
On 20 November 2015, following the presentation of the first State of the Energy Union, Vice-President Šefčovič hosted a Twitter Chat. Also several Bankwatchers joined the discussion. Here are some points we found noteworthy.
The critically endangered population of the Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus) may be getting a new lease on life this week after being threatened by planned hydropower constructions in its core area of reproduction.
Exporting toxic pollution from Europe to Namibia
November 19, 2015 | Read more
The case of the Tsumeb smelter in Namibia demonstrates how European pollution is exported to the Global South with indirect help of public development money.
The EBRD: Fueling the future, or stuck in the past?
November 19, 2015 | Read more
A closer look at the projects that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has financed in the energy sector in Middle East and North African countries reveals that, despite the bank’s rhetoric about promoting sustainable energy, its balance sheet has fossil fuels all over it.