Revolution at the EBRD required for any new role in Egypt
Publication | 14 May, 2012The figures should be well known. Somehow, though, in the western world, and especially in official quarters, they tend to get overlooked in the rush to impose the ‘next latest thing’ on post-revolution Egypt. The country’s seven percent GDP growth figure in 2007, hailed by the World Bank and others, concealed a multitude of injustices. For one thing, average per capita GDP growth plummeted from 4.1 per cent prior to 1990 to 2.7 per cent during the neoliberal era set in motion by the IMF structural adjustment regime in 1991.
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EBRD approach to PPPs continues to perplex
Publication | 14 May, 2012After a long gestation period the EBRD’s new draft Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure (MEI) policy finally appeared in April, bringing some good news such as the bank’s commitment to start monitoring some on the ground project impacts and sustainability rather than just market-related transition impacts.
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Health and safety on the line in ArcelorMittal’s Kazakh operations
Publication | 14 May, 2012The EBRD’s development of a new Mining Strategy saw the publication last month of a draft that will now be consulted on. Among the passages in the draft to catch the eye are “Multi-national firms act as demonstrators of best (or at least better) practices in those EBRD countries of operations where EHS&S (Environmental, health, safety and social) legislation is lacking”, and that “investments by major international mining operators in local mining sites in the EBRD’s countries of operations have often led to rapid and significant improvements in the safety of workers, due to safety standards that generally exceed the most stringent local health and safety requirements”.
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Economies of fail: relative efficiency gains don’t mean a lot to the climate
Publication | 14 May, 2012According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 80 percent of the cumulative CO2 that can be emitted between 2010 and 2035 if the world is to have a chance of keeping the global mean temperature rise below 2°C is already “locked-in” to existing capital stock. For a 2°C scenario, all investments after 2017 will need to be in zero-carbon utilities, unless existing infrastructure is scrapped before the end of its economic lifespan.
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EBRD maintaining relations with Turkmenistan regime
Publication | 14 May, 2012Following the EBRD’s controvesial adoption in 2010 of a ‘calibrated strategic approach’ to guide its activities in the totalitarian state of Turkmenistan, annual discussions between the bank and civil society organisations have been taking place, with the most recent last month.
Read moreKiev-Chop road rehabilitation
Publication | 14 May, 2012The rehabilitation of Kiev-Chop road project that received support from the EBRD and the EIB (each EUR 200 million) was supposed to rehabilitate the M06 Kiev-Chop Highway to European standards. Although the project was rated Category B (without significant adverse environmental impacts) it has seriously affected the life of the villagers of Bolyarka and Berezivka (Vasilivsky district, Zhitomir region) that are located along the rehabilitated road. The briefing is based on a letter sent to the EBRD’s Environmental Department in April 2012.
Read moreBankwatch Mail 52
Publication | 14 May, 2012Issue 52 of our quarterly newsletter is a special double edition as this week sees the annual meetings of two of our target institutions, the EIB and the EBRD. Both banks are attracting widspread coverage: the EIB for its potential role in a belated EU-wide drive for growth; the EBRD as it prepares to extend its operations beyond central and eastern Europe into the North Africa region and as it decides on a new president.
Read moreEBRD support for Kolubara locking in Serbia’s CO2 emissions
Publication | 12 May, 2012Linked to a slew of controversies, the Kolubara lignite mining project in Serbia is in line for support from European public banks. Corruption allegations, pollution at local level, irregularities in resettlement of local populations and not to forget a climate damaging approach to energy investments should be reason enough to find alternative options.
Read moreBoskov Most Hydro Power Plant, Macedonia
Publication | 9 May, 2012The project Boskov Most HPP involves the construction of a 33 m high dam and a hydro power plant with a total capacity of 68MW. It is mostly located in the territory of the Mavrovo National Park, one of the oldest and most valuable protected areas in the country. Since this is only one of many hydropower projects planned in the country, civil society organisations are calling for an assessment of the cumulative effect of all HPPs planned in the Mavrovo National Park before any further steps are taken.
Read moreEnvironmental standards in hydro power projects in Georgia
Publication | 9 May, 2012In recent years Georgia’s government has sought to position the country as a future regional renewable energy hub. Governmental plans include the construction of transmission lines and numerous hydropower plants (HPPs), in order to ensure electricity exports to Turkey and subsequently to gain access to the south-east European market by 2015-2017. The number and technical design of the planned HPPs do not comply with the principles of sustainable development, and they are bound to have serious negative impacts on the environment.
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