Bringing Georgian realities to the EBRD drawing board
Blog entry | 30 May, 2011David Chipashvili from Bankwatch member group Green Alternative in Georgia talks about the opportunities and threats in bringing concerns from the ground to the attention of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Read moreAre we nearly there yet? Dilemmas of transition after 20 years of EBRD’s operations
Publication | 20 May, 2011As the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development celebrates twenty years of market and democracy promotion in central and eastern Europe, Bankwatch evaluates the institution’s activities since its inception and concludes the bank needs to move swiftly and genuinely towards prioritizing social justice and lowering carbon intensity of economies, if it wants to bring real benefits to the region.
Read moreEBRD should change mandate to prioritise people and the environment, says Bankwatch
Press release | 20 May, 2011Astana, Kazakhstan – After twenty years of promoting market economies in central and eastern Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development needs to move swiftly and genuinely towards prioritising social justice and transition to energy efficient, renewable energy based economies if it wants to bring real benefits to the region, says a new policy paper from CEE Bankwatch Network issued on the occasion of the EBRD annual meeting in Astana May 20 (1).
Read moreBankwatch Mail 48
Publication | 19 May, 2011On the occasion of the EBRD’s 20th anniversary, Bankwatch Mail is complemented by a range of personal reflections from people both within and beyond central and eastern Europe, people who have worked directly on issues related to the EBRD, or who have studied the bank’s impacts.
Read moreArcelorMittal Kriviy Rih – transition without sustainability
Publication | 15 May, 2011After 5 years of project implementation, the EBRD admits: “The investment with ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih (AMKR) … has achieved the objectives related to increased capacity utilisation, corporate restructuring and market expansion. Conversely, it fell short of its energy efficiency objectives; and saw an unsatisfactory environmental performance.”
Read moreNabucco and the Arab Spring
Publication | 15 May, 2011The democratic revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East have not quite spread it to the authoritarian regimes of Central Asia. Nevertheless nervous reactions among leaders in these countries have proven another weakness of the proposed Nabucco pipeline project, in that the stable gas supplies promised by the project under the capacious term “energy security” are much less “secure” than previously expected.
Read moreIs the EBRD’s policy on offshore financial centres meaningful?
Publication | 15 May, 2011In 2010 the EBRD approved a senior loan of up to RUB 650 million (around EUR 16 million) for the New Forwarding Company (Novaya perevozochnaya kompaniya – NPK), the main operating subsidiary of Globaltrans Investment Plc, the top private railway transportation company in Russia. When trying to find out who owns GlobalTrans Investment, the trail stops in the Bahamas. What does this case mean for the EBRD’s policy on offshore jurisdictions and transparency more generally?
Read moreOmbla Hydro Power Plant, Croatia
Publication | 15 May, 2011The hydropower plant, planned to be constructed underground in a karst area near Dubrovnik, brings with it specific hydrological and ecological impacts, particularly on cave-dwelling species. Consequently, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is of utmost importance, but has been held 11 years before the beginning of procurement. Opportunities for the public to comment on and influence the project’s decision making process have thus been highly questionable.
Read moreParavani Hydro Power Plant, Georgia
Publication | 15 May, 2011The Turkish company Georgian Urban Energy (GUE) has requested a USD 44 million EBRD loan for the Paravani HPP, an 87 MW plant using a 14 km derivation tunnel in order to divert water from the Paravani river to the Mtkvari river. Bankwatch member group Green Alternative has deep concerns regarding the project’s potential negative impacts as well as its overall justification.
Read moreThe EBRD and the Polish coal sector
Publication | 15 May, 2011The Polish energy market is dominated by coal, but two thirds of the installed coal capacity is older than 30 years. The EBRD could play a crucial role in the restructuring of this market by providing financial assistance to energy efficiency projects and renewable energy and at the same time refraining from further fossil fuel investments. Update: The EBRD confirmed during later meetings that it will not finance any coal project in Poland.
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