Summary of independent environmental examination of the Moscow-St.Petersburg motorway project, section 15-58 kilometres (Khimki Forest)
Publication | 1 February, 2011The examination was initiated by a coalition of environmental NGOs and carried out by 18 experts in the field of environmental protection, environmental law, forestry, urban planning and transport development. It was handed over to Russian president Medvedev on February 1, 2011.
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Financial intermediaries must not prevent transparency at the EBRD
Blog entry | 1 February, 2011On the occasion of a revision of the EBRD’s public information policy, Bankwatch points out the lack of information when it comes to financial intermediaries.
Read moreBankwatch input to the EBRD’s public information policy review – stage one: comments on the existing policy
Publication | 28 January, 2011Bankwatch’s submission draws heavily on earlier comments (pdf) provided by Bankwatch and the Global Transparency Initiative during the 2007/2008 PIP review but also includes amendments from our experiences with the current policy’s implementation. A particular cause for concern is the lack of transparency in case of global loans given to financial intermediaries.
Read moreThe EIB’s and EBRD’s role in changing the Polish energy market
Publication | 20 January, 2011The European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development can play a crucial role in a transition of the Polish energy market towards energy efficient energy production based on renewable energies.
Read moreCivil society letter to IFC requesting to include lessons learned from the Chad-Cameroon and BTC pipeline projects in the assessment process of the Nabucco pipeline project
Publication | 20 January, 2011The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering financing the Nabucco gas pipeline project. Should the IFC decide to finance the project, it risks repeating the serious economic, environmental, social and human rights mistakes associated with the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) and Chad-Cameroon pipeline projects and involving the World Bank Group in another highly problematic, politicized and economically and environmentally unsustainable project.
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Tree adoptions lead to more arrests in Khimki Forest
Blog entry | 17 January, 2011Despite the Russian government’s controversial decision to go ahead with the Moscow St. Petersburg motorway’s original routing through Khimki Forest, environmental activists have not given up their struggle to save the last remaining natural area in a densely populated region.
Read moreEBRD undermines Slovenian climate targets and governmental review with 200 million euros for dirty coal project
Press release | 14 January, 2011Ljubljana, Slovenia — Campaign groups today lambasted the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) signature of a 200 million euros loan for the Sostanj thermal power plant in Slovenia [1], calling it a blatant affront to Slovenia’s long-term climate targets. The signing also fails to await the outcome of a governmental review of the controversial project, expected in mid-February.
Read moreLetter to EBRD President Thomas Mirow requesting public withdrawal from the Moscow – St.Petersburg motorway project routed through Khimki forest
Publication | 17 December, 2010While the EBRD has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the project development process for this project, it has so far refrained from making any final decisions on whether to finance the road or not. We believe the time has now come for the bank to clearly and publicly withdraw from the project.
Read moreLabour conditions at Furshet supermarkets in Ukraine. How employee rights have been shaping up since the start of EBRD financial support
Publication | 7 December, 2010In 2007 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided a USD 90 million loan to the second largest supermarket operator in Ukraine – the Furshet Group – for the regional expansion of its chain in Ukraine and Moldova. The aim of this research was to examine labour/gender conditions at supermarkets in respect of employee rights and discrimination at work, resulting in recommendations how Furshet and the EBRD can improve the employees’ situation.
Read morePointers for the EBRDs strategy on Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure (MEI)
Publication | 20 November, 2010With these pointers, Bankwatch analyses the EBRD’s current Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure (MEI) policy and critically examines its implementation in the sectors of water, waste, transport, district heating and other social services. We offer recommendations that – if included in the revised policy – would help taking into account the inescapable need for a low-carbon development and the lessons from the global economic crisis.
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