Critical economic analysis of the Tuzla thermal power plant unit 7 project
December 16, 2014
The public company Elektroprivreda BiH is developing a project for the construction of unit 7 at the Tuzla lignite-fired power plant. The key financial indicators presented in JP Elektroprivrede BiH’s document have been derived in an unclear manner, but even with these figures it is clear that the project is poorly grounded. This creates potential threats to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s public budget since the project will likely receive state support.
New money, old ideas – How EU spending plans for central and eastern Europe are selling short a greener future
December 11, 2014
This comprehensive analysis of draft government spending plans for the allocation of EU budget money shows that central and Eastern European countries are planning to use unacceptable amounts of their €350 billion allocation on dirty energy projects, polluting forms of transport and incinerators. The study was published by CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe. See also this interactive visualisation of the spending plans.
Eight things to give the EIB’s forthcoming climate policy meaning, purpose and ambition
December 10, 2014
With climate protection set to be a high priority for the EU in the next five years and beyond, the EIB needs to streamline climate considerations across its lending to different sectors and in different regions as quickly as possible. Such a policy needs to deliver on multiple objectives, with the combating of climate change and the promotion of sustainability absolutely central to these.
When the dust settles – Impacts of the Tayan Nuur iron ore mine on nomadic herders’ lives in Mongolia
December 9, 2014
This report from a fact-finding mission to the Gobi Altai mountains in Mongolia describes the impacts the Tayan Nuur iron ore mine has on local nomadic herders, including displacement, dust pollution resulting in diminished livestock, and more. While the mining company Altain Khuder responds to criticism with intimidation, the company’s financier, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is not doing enough to protect herders’ rights.
Letters to EBRD regarding loan for Naftogaz pipeline
December 9, 2014
The letters were sent shortly before the EBRD’s board of directors are to approve a loan for the Naftogaz Emergency Pipeline Upgrade and Modernisation project. Since the project has not yet passed through all environmental and social procedures, Bankwatch asked the EBRD’s president and its board in separate letters to postpone the board decision. Letter to the EBRD president >> (pdf)
Bankwatch Mail 61
December 2, 2014
Европейский инвестиционный банк как основа Инициативы проектных облигаций ЕС – ее начальной и, как показывает опыт, проблематичной пилотной фазы. В Bankwatch Mail 61 рассматриваются инфраструктурные проблемы, которые сегодня стоят перед Европой, вопрос приемлемости использования таких механизмов, как европейские проектные облигации, для выхода на финансовые рынки, а также обзор недавно представленного пакета инвестиционных мер Юнкера, в котором в очередной раз ведущая роль в области реанимации европейской экономики отводится ЕИБ.
Bankwatch Mail 61
December 2, 2014
The European Investment Bank has been at the heart of the EU’s Project Bonds Initiative – its inception and its so far troubled pilot phase. Bankwatch Mail 61 examines the infrastructure challenges facing us in Europe and beyond, questions whether mechanisms such as the European project bonds are an appropriate way to tap into money in financial markets, and provides an overview of the newly launched Juncker investment package, featuring another pivotal role for the EIB in the latest high-level effort to kick-start the European economy.
Mind the infrastructure gap
December 2, 2014
A case of outrageous bad fortune, or a portent of things to come? The one thing that can be stated with any certainty about the collapsed Castor project, the underground gas storage plant in Vinaròs, Spain that was selected in 2013 as the lead-out project for the EU’s Project Bond Initiative (PBI), is that the Spanish government has put its citizens on the hook to cover a compensation package of EUR 1.35 billion to ESCAL UGS, the project promoter.
EIB role in Juncker investment package draws more questions than answers for now
December 2, 2014
Here we go again. Having been called upon to ramp up its investments in 2009 and 2010 as part of Europe’s initial financial crisis fire-fighting, and then in 2012 been a central cog in the EU’s ambitious but ultimately lacklustre ‘Growth Compact’, the European Investment Bank now finds itself at the heart of new European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s three-year drive to boost investment in Europe, as unveiled on November 26.
Castor project sends Project Bonds Initiative shockwaves, taxpayers hit worst
December 2, 2014
In July 2013, the much-hyped joint European commission/EIB ‘Project Bond Initiative’ (PBI) had scarcely got off the ground – in its pilot phase at least – when unusual natural events took over. Work at the EUR 1.7 billion Castor underground gas storage plant off the coast of Valencia commenced in summer 2013. But by mid-September the Spanish government was forced to halt work at the plant after 220 mini earthquakes in the area were detected in less than a month. Local residents reported the tremors following injections of natural gas to prepare Castor for operations. Subsequent research has found that the gas injection provoked 1,000 earthquakes in the region.
