Kyrgyzstan and the conflict over natural resources
July 29, 2013
Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country rich in water and natural resources. The country is one of 2000 priority ecological regions of the planet with unique ecosystems and biodiversity and is considered the “water tower” of Central Asia due to its Tien Shan glacier reserves. The management of Kyrgyzstan’s natural resources is crucial to the future sustainability of the country. However in a region where poverty is widespread, the primacy placed on economic development seriously threats sustainability.
Policy briefing: New draft energy (read oil, gas and coal) strategy at the EBRD
July 24, 2013
The EBRD’s draft energy strategy doesn’t have a climate target. It recognizes the urgency of climate action and the fact that the energy sector is the largest greenhouse gas emitter and places energy efficiency and renewable energy at the core of the transition to low carbon economies. The low carbon transition appears to be a central theme of the draft strategy but when it comes to the fossil fuels sector, it only translates into a potential slight reduction in coal investments.
The EBRD plans more climate damaging loans in new energy policy draft
July 22, 2013
London – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) published July 19 a draft (pdf) of its future energy policy. According to CEE Bankwatch Network, although the bank correctly depicts the urgency of transitioning towards low-carbon economies, it falls short when it comes to commitments: lending to fossil fuels is envisaged to continue, including for coal, the dirties of fossil fuels; and promises to support renewables and energy efficiency, though welcome, are not accompanied by persuasive benchmarks and timelines.
Complaint to EBRD highlights negative impact of mining on Mongolian herders
July 4, 2013
Ulaanbaatar, 04 July 2013. A group of Mongolian herders submitted today an official complaint to the Project Complaints Mechanism of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), hoping to initiate a process of evaluation of the adverse impacts on their health and livelihoods of two mining projects financed by the international public lender.
The G8, tax havens and the need to clean up our own “bank yard”
June 18, 2013
While the G8 leaders claim they are at war with tax avoidance, their own bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is involved in deals linked to offshore financial centres.
Divesting from coal is not ideology but climate science – a reminder for the EBRD
May 14, 2013
The energy director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has made astonishing statements about coal investments prompting Bankwatch’s EBRD campaign team to react.
No end in sight for EBRD coal finance
May 10, 2013
Istanbul – With the 2013 EBRD annual meetings underway and in spite of repeated commitments to sustainability, the bank is set to continue financing coal projects that will dangerously aggravate climate change.
New EBRD Environmental and Social policy needs climate muscle and tightened safeguards for protected areas
May 10, 2013
If there is one sector in which the EBRD has been causing particular controversy in recent years, it is the energy sector. From lignite in Slovenia to hydropower in Georgia and nuclear in Ukraine, the bank has financed a series of projects that have incurred opposition from various quarters. Now that the EBRD is revising its Environmental and Social Policy it’s time to take a look at what needs to be learned from these projects.
EBRD Public Information Policy review should look to EU and US transparency advances
May 10, 2013
This year’s flurry of reviews to EBRD sectoral, country and operational strategies has given civil society organisations plenty to think about and provide input on. However, in the case of at least one of the reviews, we already have a pretty good idea what we will say. Because we’ve said it before – several times.
EBRD Energy policy review – no more excuses, rhetoric or finessing
May 10, 2013
Energy is the watchword of the day, as we keep increasing the need for it, no matter the costs, apparently. Well, the costs do matter but they are distorted by subsidies old and new, for fossil fuels and for renewable energy sources, while the global business world is made to feel increasingly insecure by the price of carbon emissions.
