The forgotten annex in the EBRD Sustainability Report 2022: human rights
Publication | 9 June, 2023In 2022, Bankwatch and its partner civil society organisations provided the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with over twelve reports highlighting human rights concerns related to investment projects in the Bank’s countries of operation. However, none of these concerns are mentioned in the EBRD Sustainability Report 2022.
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Seven years after joining the EBRD’s Green Cities programme, is Yerevan’s green future going up in flames?
Blog entry | 2 June, 2023In May 2023, a massive fire broke out at the Nubarashen landfill on the outskirts of Yerevan, enveloping the city in a cloud of toxic smoke generated by the burning waste. It took 10 days and 2,300 truckloads of soil to extinguish the flames. Coming seven years after Yerevan became a pioneer by joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Green Cities initiative, this incident is a stark reminder of the urgent need to adopt a safer and more sustainable approach to waste management and urban planning.
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Implementation of Yerevan’s Green City Action Plan
Publication | 2 June, 2023This report assesses the extent to which the actions, targets and objectives set out in Yerevan’s GCAP have been implemented and how this has affected the city’s environmental conditions.
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The unexplained backtracking of the EBRD and Tbilisi City Hall: why did they keep the contract with a Russian company?
Press release | 13 March, 2023The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing funding to Tbilisi City Hall to purchase metro cars for the Georgian capital’s metro system from a Russian company, Metrowagonmash. The company is part of Transmashholding, whose shareholders – Russian oligarchs Iskander Makhmudov and Andrey Bokarev – are closely linked with the Kremlin and its defence industry. Metrowagonmash’s sister company is also reportedly providing engines for Russian warships.
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EBRD funds channelled to Kremlin affiliates: Why the purchase of Tbilisi metro cars from a Russian company should not proceed as planned
Blog entry | 13 March, 2023The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing funding to Tbilisi City Hall to purchase metro cars for the Georgian capital’s metro system from Russian company Metrowagonmash. But Metrowagonmash is not just any Russian company.
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EBRD: Everything is peachy, just trust us!
Blog entry | 17 February, 2023The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) appears keen to finance a major new pipeline to import fossil gas from Greece to North Macedonia, which would lock the country into increased fossil gas use for decades. Yet when the rationale for this is questioned, the EBRD fails to provide relevant data to justify its claims.
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EBRD investments in Ukrainian agro-giant MHP under investigation
Blog entry | 2 February, 2023After years of community complaints about the environmental and social damage caused by Ukrainian agro-giant Myronivsky Hliboprodukt (MHP), independent investigators are now looking into the role of international public finance in contributing to those harms. Considering the current food crisis, Ukraine’s important role in the global food supply chain and the prospect of more international investments to prop up Ukraine’s economy, it is time for financiers to learn the lessons of their past mistakes.
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How many elephants does it take to build a gas pipeline?
Blog entry | 23 January, 2023In October 2022, the EBRD published no fewer than eight environmental and social assessments on the Greece – North Macedonia fossil gas pipeline for public consultation. Thousands of pages analyse every nook and cranny along the planned route, but fail to notice the elephant in the room: the project’s massive greenhouse gas emissions.
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Is Samarkand ready to become a Green City?
Publication | 26 December, 2022This briefing reviews Samarkand’s existing urban development plans, the main environmental and social concerns of residents with a focus on public transport, and provides recommendations on including civil society in the GCAP planning.
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Almaty’s Green City Action Plan: a plan for destructive creation?
Blog entry | 8 December, 2022The Kazakh city of Almaty joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Green Cities initiative in 2019. How does the first Green City Action Plan in Central Asia reflect public participation?
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