Oyu Tolgoi Phase 2: Plans, Issues and Risks
February 11, 2016
This report summarises the mining activity proposed by Oyu Tolgoi in its Phase 2 development plan, describes the block caving underground mining technology planned for the large deep ore body to be mined in Phase 2, environmental impacts and reclamation potential of block cave mines, and issues and risks associated with future OT power supply, international metal market price uncertainties, and OT Phase 1 and 2 impacts on water resources and herders and their livelihood in the region surrounding the OT mine license area.
NGO open letter to EIB president: don’t finance the Southern Gas Corridor
January 28, 2016
In this letter, a group of 27 non-governmental organisations urge the President of the European Investment Bank not to finance the Southern Gas Corridor, a 3500 kilometres-long chain of gas pipelines from Azerbaijan to Europe. As the EIB considers granting the biggest loan of its history to the Consortium in charge of developing the western section of the project, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the group of NGOs warns about its most controversial aspects.
Report finds development banks fail people harmed by their projects
January 27, 2016
A new report launched today documents the hurdles communities and workers face in obtaining remedy from development banks whose projects cause them harm. The 11 civil society organizations that authored the report, Glass Half Full? The State of Accountability in Development Finance, call on development banks and the governments that run them to strengthen their systems for providing remedy to those harmed by the activities financed by the banks.
Glass Half Full? The state of accountability in development finance
January 27, 2016
Real development respects human rights and is shaped by the people it is designed to benefit. However, development projects financed by development finance institutions in many cases has been associated with the dispossession of land, loss of resources, diminished livelihoods and environmental degradation. Accountability mechanisms in theory aim to ensure that people who have been harmed by these projects receive adequate remedy. As this report shows, however, these accountability mechanisms to a large extent fail to fulfil this function, not least because they operate in a constrained environment constructed by the institutions that administer them.
Tensions flare over environmental threat of Canadian gold mine in Kyrgyzstan
January 5, 2016
The remote Issyk Kul province in eastern Kyrgyzstan, on the border with China, is home to some of the most stunning vistas of the rugged Tian Shan mountain range that cuts through much of Central Asia. Mountain goats and endangered snow leopards roam the rocky slopes, while rare species of dandelion and wild tulip bloom in alpine meadows.
Kyrgyzstan scares residents amid talks with gold mine owner
December 29, 2015
A gold mine is creating big profits in Kyrgyzstan, but there are many who say they are not seeing any of the profits. People in areas surrounding the Kumtor gold mine say they want better facilities like schools and hospitals.
New Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank struggles to convince on environment and sustainability issues
December 17, 2015
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the China-led financial institution, has emerged as a multilateral development bank with the backing of 57 members in record time. Jin Liqun, president designate of the new financial institution set up to provide financing for infrastructure projects in south east Asia and countries along the Silk Road route in South Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the periphery of Europe, has declared that the AIIB will be a ‘lean, clean, and green’ institution which upholds the highest standards of 21st century governance. Early doubts, though, hang over these aspirations.
Public development banks failing 2 degree test, heavy fossil fuel financing persists
December 17, 2015
The 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.
EU-backed fossil fuels binge needs to end in ‘neighbourhood’ countries
December 17, 2015
Bankwatch 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.
The newly proposed World Bank Safeguards – A paper tiger?
December 17, 2015
The social and environmental policies of the World Bank – commonly referred to as the ‘Safeguards’ – have been under review since 2012. In July 2015, as part of this review, the World Bank, released a second draft of the Safeguards for consultation and public comments.
