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EBRD environmental policy breaches on hydro plants confirmed by internal investigation

13 January, 2014

The EBRD has failed to properly assess 3 hydro projects it has approved for financing in Macedonia, Croatia and Georgia, according to bank internal investigations initiated after formal complaints by Bankwatch member groups. NGOs caution that, more than mere slips, these improper assessments are a symptom of what could be called bankers’ overconfidence – that is, a tendency to assume that all environmental damage can be ‘managed’, which from a business point of view is much more convenient than admitting that some projects simply should not go ahead.

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Is Egypt just stuck in transition or heading away from democracy? Considerations for the EBRD

10 January, 2014

Six months after the Egyptian army deposed Egypt’s first freely elected president, the weak democratic signals by the authorities are overshadowed by widespread repression. How can the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development possibly help under these circumstances? Or put differently: Will the limited benefits to the country’s private sector from EBRD engagement really be enough to outweigh the harm done by the bank’s support for an undemocratic regime?

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Litmus test for EBRD rhetoric on democracy with Egyptian oil project

19 December, 2013

On December 18 the EBRD board of directors approved a loan of USD 50 million to finance a project aimed at the expansion of oil operations and reducing gas flaring in Egypt. Yet the tenuous political situation in the country continues to raise concerns about the bank’s ability to make a positive contribution towards the democratic process, and whether it should be investing there at all.

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Sounding out the EBRD’s energy strategy: little ambition besides scrapping coal

13 December, 2013

At a closer look the EBRD’s new energy strategy, complimented for the restrictions it places on coal lending, reveals a shocking lack of operational knowledge to implement the ambitions outlined in its executive summary.

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EBRD joins other financial institutions in restricting coal lending

10 December, 2013

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved today during a vote of its Board of Directors a new Energy Strategy. The document is meant to give guidance on how to strategically use the bank’s resources over the next years to promote energy security and affordability and avoid dangerous climate change.

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