As tensions reach a tipping point at Amulsar gold mine, what next for the EBRD?
August 20, 2020
In early August, Armenian protestors who had been blocking access continuously for the past two years to the controversial Amulsar gold mine were forcibly removed by the mine’s newly-hired security detail.
EIB keeps denying Southern Gas Corridor climate impact
August 4, 2020
As it seeks to morph into the EU’s climate bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) continues to downplay the climate footprint of many of the projects it finances, including that of Europe’s largest fossil fuels project, the Southern Gas Corridor.
Informing women is the first step to empowering them
August 3, 2020
Evidence of meaningful implementation of the Gender Action Plan for EBRD and GCF’s Green Cities Framework – not found.
Green City Action Plan for Tbilisi – A Mere Formality?
July 31, 2020
Tbilisi is a city of more than 1.2 million people,1 characterized by serious environmental challenges in terms of air, water and soil pollution. It also experiences problems with urban planning and mobility. This briefing analyses the lack of integration in international efforts to make Tbilisi a greener, more sustainable place to live.
SLAPPd: the Armenian activists fighting a mining multinational’s lawsuits
June 22, 2020
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) are a form of often frivolous litigation used by corporations to intimidate and punish critics and silence their right to free speech. Lydian international, the tax haven-listed mining company, has repeatedly deployed the tactic against journalists and civil society as it presses forward with the Amulsar gold mine in Armenia, whilst the EBRD has stood by silently.
Legal challenges mount for Armenia gold mine as complaint filed to EU development lender
June 15, 2020
Yerevan – The beleaguered Amulsar gold mine in Armenia broke rules attached to two loans totalling EUR 11 million it received in 2017 and 2009 from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, alleges a new complaint from 23 people living near the project and Armenian and international civil society groups including CEE Bankwatch Network.
From the Caucasus to Russia: Why this road?
April 27, 2020
To “better connect the Caucasus to Russia,” a new road project, Kvesheti-Kobi, is planned to be realized in Georgia. This road section will be part of a north-south corridor that passes the Caucasus and serves to connect the region to Russia.
Change for good: why we need fair, just supply chains
April 27, 2020
Uncertainty and crisis are not uncommon to global supply chains. The present disruption sheds light on the unsustainability of production and logistics and is an opportunity for economic players like the international financial institutions to rethink the way supply chains benefit those at every stage.
Fears revive in the villages of Shuakhevi as one of Georgia’s biggest hydropower plants starts operation
April 17, 2020
Georgia’s Shuakhevi hydropower plant (HPP), which once promised to bring energy independence to the country but collapsed soon after becoming operational in 2017, has come back to life. But its return has not been welcome.
The Khada Valley, Georgia
April 8, 2020
The Khada Valley in Georgia brings together exceptional biodiversity, precious cultural and archeological heritage, and mountainous villages which have preserved rich traditions and historical lifestyles. But all of this might vanish if a 23-kilometer road from Georgia to Russia – the Kvesheti-Kobi project – is built.
