Comments on EBRD Draft Country Strategy for Armenia
May 16, 2012
Environmental standards in hydro power projects in Georgia
May 9, 2012
In recent years Georgia’s government has sought to position the country as a future regional renewable energy hub. Governmental plans include the construction of transmission lines and numerous hydropower plants (HPPs), in order to ensure electricity exports to Turkey and subsequently to gain access to the south-east European market by 2015-2017. The number and technical design of the planned HPPs do not comply with the principles of sustainable development, and they are bound to have serious negative impacts on the environment.
Corporate largesse meets scepticism at World Water Forum
March 21, 2012
Criticism and protests around the World Water Forum have highlighted the risk of hydropower projects being greenwashed and the dangers these installations can pose to people and nature in many countries.
Bankwatch input on EBRD country level transition indicators
February 14, 2012
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is revising its country level transition indicators, which help measuring the impacts of the bank’s lending. Bankwatch’s input comments on the EBRD’s current indicators and proposes to include indicators that more concretely could illustrate the EBRD’s impact on the environment and the lives of people in its countries of operation. Specifically, our indicators pertain to aspects of inequality, gender, labour standards, life satisfaction and resource efficiency.
Tragedy or comedy, what is the Nabucco pipeline really?
January 19, 2012
The announcement of German energy giant RWE to reconsider its plans for the Nabucco pipeline is just the last in a series of confusingly conflicting signals regarding the fate of this gargantuan project.
Comments on the European Neighbourhood Policy and the forthcoming European Neighborhood Instrument
November 30, 2011
The primary goal of the EU’s neighbourhood policy should be based on an insistence on increased democracy in EU neighbourhood countries. This should happen through public participation in decision-making processes, the establishment of good governance and sustainable development practices, increased environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as increased welfare and social security across these countries.
The people’s perspective please: are public social safety nets important?
November 16, 2011
Yesterday, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) published its Transition Report for 2011, subtitled “The People’s Perspective”. This is because the study pays unprecedented attention to how regular households in post-socialist countries are managing after almost three years of economic crisis.
European Parliament makes a step towards putting the ‘E’ into EBRD
October 19, 2011
By requesting a number of changes at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Parliament has confirmed at least some of Bankwatch’s criticism of the bank’s mode of operation and (in a subtle way) also its overall approach.
Bypassing responsibility
August 8, 2011
The complaints office at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has agreed to investigate a complaint from Bankwatch that a railway project in Georgia has not been properly assessed. Georgian Bankwatcher Dato Chipashvili thinks the case should be a lesson for the EBRD to make sure that from the start local people have their say in how projects are done.
Bringing Georgian realities to the EBRD drawing board
May 30, 2011
David Chipashvili from Bankwatch member group Green Alternative in Georgia talks about the opportunities and threats in bringing concerns from the ground to the attention of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
