Seven years after joining the EBRD’s Green Cities programme, is Yerevan’s green future going up in flames?
June 2, 2023
In May 2023, a massive fire broke out at the Nubarashen landfill on the outskirts of Yerevan, enveloping the city in a cloud of toxic smoke generated by the burning waste. It took 10 days and 2,300 truckloads of soil to extinguish the flames. Coming seven years after Yerevan became a pioneer by joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Green Cities initiative, this incident is a stark reminder of the urgent need to adopt a safer and more sustainable approach to waste management and urban planning.
Tbilisi’s public transport woes and faltering reforms
September 28, 2022
Residents of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi have been struggling with the city’s beleaguered public transport network, air pollution, road congestion and inadequate access to schools and workplaces for years. In the past decade, Tbilisi authorities with the involvement of international financial institutions, set out to improve the situation. Today, despite the availability of funds, most of the old problems persist.
More efforts from the EBRD required to mainstream gender in Kyrgyzstan
September 26, 2018
It appears the EBRD funds are prioritised on the first-need service basis rather than the long-term strategy goals identified by the EBRD in both the public transportation and water sectors.
Gender inclusion in the EBRD public transport and water projects in southern Kyrgyzstan
September 20, 2018
The research team has conducted a survey that was focused on gender inclusion in the EBRD funded public transport and water projects in Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyz Republic. The outcome of this publication revealed that the bank’s objectives
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.
EIB transport lending is not just on a wrong track but hardly on tracks at all
June 6, 2011
Bankwatch’s EIB team leader Anna Roggenbuck, on her way to consultations on the European Investment Bank’s transport policy, has crunched the numbers of the bank’s transport sector lending. The result: while exhibiting a strong faith in future technological solutions the EIB is fuelling increased carbon emissions across Europe.
Poland should kick off rail revitalisation now to best serve passengers and cargo
April 5, 2011
While Polish authorities waste precious time trying to persuade a reluctant European Commission to approve a reallocation of 1.2 billion euros of EU Funds from rail to road, Bankwatch member group Polish Green Network argues that the government would be better advised to start investing in rail transport as soon as possible.
In Poland positive signs from Commission that EU Funds for rails stay for rails
March 18, 2011
According to a leading Polish daily (Polish language), first negotiations between Polish vice ministers and European Commission representatives last week failed to convince the Commission to allow a shift of EUR 1,2 billion away from railway projects to motorway construction.
Getting from A to B while cutting out the GHGs – Is some ambitious, climate-real transport lending about to turn up at the EIB?
December 7, 2010
In the face of official EU statements stressing the need to decarbonise Europe’s transport sector, our analysis has found that a rise in EIB lending between 2006 and 2009 for roads and aviation has coincided with a dramatic decrease in EIB lending for urban public transport.
Sounding the potential of a European budget “for the people and the climate”
June 29, 2010
After six months of preparations and more than 50 interviews with decision makers and experts, Bankwatch has met with representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to discuss how the next EU budget for the 2014-2020 period can effectively support a low-carbon economy with benefits for people and nature.
