Legal challenges hit Greece – North Macedonia gas pipeline plans
Press release | 19 September, 2023Non-governmental organisations CEE Bankwatch Network and Eko-svest have submitted three formal complaints alleging legal breaches in the planned Greece – North Macedonia fossil gas pipeline project.
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Is this development? Public development banks must rethink their investments and put local communities first
Blog entry | 4 September, 2023On 4 to 6 September, the world’s public development banks will gather for the Finance in Common Summit in Cartagena, Colombia. They’ll be discussing key development issues – from climate change to infrastructure – issues that affect the lives of millions of people around the world. Bankwatch is on the ground to expose the adverse impacts of investments made by development banks and advocates for meaningful community participation in decision-making on development projects.
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Civil society calls on public development banks to overhaul their approach to development
Press release | 4 September, 2023As a member of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development, Bankwatch has joined civil society organisations and human rights defenders from over 20 countries in calling for immediate and effective action from public development banks.
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European Ombudsman urges European Investment Bank to enhance transparency – once again!
Press release | 26 July, 2023The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s lending arm, is facing renewed pressure to improve its transparency (1). In a recent decision, the Ombudsman highlighted the EIB’s insufficient justification for withholding access to environmental information related to a significant loan granted to Poland’s largest state-owned energy utility, PGE (2).
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‘EU climate bank’ keeps back door open for fossil fuel giants
Blog entry | 2 May, 2023The European Investment Bank (EIB) made history with its decision to stop financing fossil fuel energy from 2022 onwards. By adopting the PATH Framework in October 2021, it seemed the EIB had finally set the conditions requiring its clients to disclose information on their corporate-level emissions, as well as decarbonisation plans. But a year later, it made a U-turn.
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EU’s house bank breached environmental standards on Serbia hydropower project
Press release | 14 April, 2023The European Investment Bank (EIB) breached its environmental standards during the approval of the Komalj small hydropower plant in Serbia, the Bank’s Complaint Mechanism has concluded, in a report published today. (1)
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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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EIB moves to curb intermediated hydropower financing
Blog entry | 29 July, 2022The EU’s house bank has recently updated its exclusion list, a document detailing what kind of projects it will not finance. This finally closes a long-standing loophole allowing ill-suited intermediaries to finance hydropower projects.
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EIB Global: new branding, old problems
Blog entry | 20 July, 2022With the launch of its new development branch EIB Global, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has shown its appetite for becoming a significant player in the field of development finance. However, without a major change in the Bank’s management and the shareholders’ approach to the impacts of its operations, EIB Global will remain a public relations exercise and a lost cause.
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