Whether in Europe or beyond, public money must not become an auxiliary for human rights violations or the marginalisation of affected communities.
We expose cases where development banks fail to protect those impacted by their projects.
We advocate for participation and consultation processes that are not pro-forma exercises, but a tool to ensure people’s well-being.
Close to frontline communities
We’re in direct contact with affected communities and provide updates from their struggles.
Image (c) Rosa Vroom
Where rights are on the line
Krapska Reka small hydropower plant, Macedonia
Loopholes in the EBRD’s due diligence, together with a lack of assessment and monitoring by Macedonia’s local and central government, has proven to be a lethal combination for the country’s rivers. A prime example is the Krapska Reka small hydropower project. The authorities’ failure to recognise the location as part of the proposed Jakupica National Park, Emerald area and a future Natura 2000 site, on top of poor mitigation measures and construction practices, have caused irreversible damage to this small river valley.
Destructive hydropower in southeast Europe
International commercial and public banks have been bankrolling a wave of hydropower projects across Southeast Europe that have damaged pristine rivers, including in protected areas. These financiers need to take their share of the responsibility and stop financing projects in sensitive areas.
Buk Bijela dam and the Upper Drina cascade
Backed by a state-owned energy company, Buk Bijela has the necessary support and privileges to to be pushed forward in violation of the national legislation and international conventions.
Latest news
When courts help cloak export credit agencies’ financial clout
Blog entry | 19 April, 2021Operating far from the public eye, export credit agencies offer state backing worth billions of dollars every year that in too many cases have enabled both the fossil fuels industry and human rights abuses around the world. These influential public finance institutions have also been relentless in resisting civil society legal challenges to shine a light on how they use public money.
Read moreHalf green and half-blind on democracy. As the EBRD turns 30 the vision of its founders is still far out of sight
Blog entry | 14 April, 2021The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was created in 1991 at a unique moment in history: after the fall of the Berlin wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the run-up for the Rio Earth Summit on Sustainable Development and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Read moreSaving ‘private’ Rioni: Georgia’s growing environmental protest
Blog entry | 9 April, 2021In just a few months, a protest against a large dam on the Rioni River has grown from a handful of people in Lechkhumi, western Georgia into a national demonstration. On the International Day of Action for Rivers, 14 March, thousands of Georgians made history with the largest environmental protest in the country’s recent past.
Read moreRelated publications
The Romanian renewable energy sector: a potential still untapped
Study | 8 April, 2021 | Download PDFThis report assesses the development of the Romanian renewable energy sector, identifies the main public policies needed to support this sector and offers recommendations to ensure the sustainable growth of the sector until 2030. The European Green Dea
Tashlyk hydro pumped storage plant, Ukraine
Briefing | 7 April, 2021 | Download PDFOn 12 May 2020, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that it is considering financing the completion of the Tashlyk hydro pumped storage plant (HPSP) project. The Ukrainian state-owned enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company (Ener
Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade (Bulgaria)
Study | 30 March, 2021 | Download PDFThe Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade in Bulgaria consists of eight small hydropower plants installed on pipelines that supply the town of Blagoevgrad with drinking water. The plants were developed by the private company Blagoevgradska Bistri
