9 reasons why the EU’s bank is no climate leader
Publication | 17 December, 2015In the run-up to, during and now, with a global deal reached, after the Paris climate summit, the world’s largest public lender, the European Investment Bank (EIB), is positioning itself as a climate pioneer. But is the bank really fit for this role? Can the EIB make a break from its history of financing fossil fuels and polluting forms of transportation after decades of cosy relations with the biggest culprits?
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Public development banks failing 2 degree test, heavy fossil fuel financing persists
Publication | 17 December, 2015The MDB Climate Change Scorecard, published by Bank Information Center and Sierra Club during COP21, highlights how none of the world’s biggest multi-lateral development banks is on track to help keep the world below 2 degrees warming, and reveals how the seven banks in question – including the World Bank, the EIB and the EBRD – are continuing to support fossil fuel projects in developing countries.
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“Shaping the age of gas” – how the EU is locking in a destructive path
Publication | 17 December, 2015As efforts to realise a mega gas pipeline along the Southern Gas Corridor intensify, Re:Common’s Elena Gerebizza explains how democratic rights are at stake – and are being trampled on.
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EU-backed fossil fuels binge needs to end in ‘neighbourhood’ countries
Publication | 17 December, 2015Bankwatch has been taking a look at EU financing for the energy sector in 16 European Neighbourhood countries between 2007 and 2014. Alarmingly, our research has uncovered that out of at least EUR 9 billion provided by the EU to energy projects in the ENP region during the period under assessment, more than EUR 4.2 billion in financing went to hydrocarbons in contrast to the EUR 1.5 billion awarded to low carbon sources of energy and energy efficiency projects.
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Polish authorities on collision course with EU institutions over S7 expressway
Publication | 17 December, 2015A barely eight kilometre long section of an express road in central Poland is becoming another battlefield in the long-running conflict between Polish road authorities on one side and European biodiversity protection laws, and environmental NGOs trying to uphold them, on the other. Except this time, it’s not just about the law – it’s also about the money.
Read moreBankwatch Mail 63
Publication | 17 December, 2015Published after the conclusion of the UN climate negotiations in Paris, Issue 63 of Bankwatch Mail presents ample evidence of how the EBRD and the EIB continue to be firmly tied to fossil fuel financing, in spite of increasing pressure to do more to end support for carbon-intensive sources of energy. And even when multilateral development banks say they’re doing ‘clean energy’ some of the effects are proving to be catastrophic – as the impacts of IFI-backed hydropower projects across the Balkans show. We also take a look at the new kid on the IFI block, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and consider among other things how its ambition to be ‘lean, clean, and green’ sits with apparent plans for the new bank to help fire up a lot of coal power plants across Asia.
Read moreInfographics: Pristine Balkan rivers threatened by European “green energy” funding for hydropower
Publication | 14 December, 2015A wave of hydropower development fuelled by European public funding and EU companies is endangering pristine river environments in the Balkans.
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New Bankwatch study: European “green energy” funding for hydropower threatens pristine Balkan rivers
Press release | 11 December, 2015Radolfzell, Vienna, Prague – A wave of hydropower development fuelled by European public funding and EU companies is endangering pristine river environments in the Balkans, finds a new study by CEE Bankwatch Network released today.
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Financing for hydropower in protected areas in southeast Europe
Publication | 11 December, 2015Southeast Europe is experiencing a wave of hydropower projects. In a region with a deadly combination of Europe’s last wild rivers, rampant corruption and inadequate nature protection, the potential for damage is immense. In order to address this issue, we need to know who is making it happen. This research aims – to the extent possible given the secrecy around the financial sector – to find out who are the main actors involved in financing hydropower projects in the region, both overall and inside of protected areas. Update January 2017 The EBRD has said that financing has been cancelled for four small hydropower plants in Macedonia: Zrnovska reka 1, Zrnovska reka 2, Estericka reka, Kadina reka. In addition, financing has been cancelled for the 68 MW Boskov Most plant in the Mavrovo National Park, also in Macedonia. Regarding the Ternove SHPP in Albania, the EBRD has said that it had conducted an on-site investigation into the concerns received in a letter from an affected citizen. The bank found nothing to substantiate the allegations. Bankwatch will continue to monitor the issue.
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9 reasons why the EU’s bank is no climate leader
Blog entry | 8 December, 2015The European Investment Bank’s track record stands in stark contrast to its pose as a hero in the fight against climate change.
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