EBRD Policy officer
Email: ninalesikhina [at] bankwatch.orgTel.: +420 777 995 515
Nina joined Bankwatch in 2019 as a Community Support Coordinator. She holds Master’s degrees in Environmental Science (Murmansk State Humanitarian University, Russia) and Environmental Policy (Central European University, Hungary). She has extensive experience in public advocacy campaigning on energy, climate change, waste, and chemicals management in Russia and globally.
More from Nina Lesikhina
In May 2025, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) released its first-ever Impact Report. With EUR 16.6 billion invested in 584 projects in 2024, the report highlights ambitious claims: reductions in emissions, boosts to human capital, and support for inclusive economies. But as we dig deeper, a familiar issue re-emerges: the gap between institutional ambition and on-the-ground reality.
In May 2025, the EBRD published its first-ever Impact Report, showcasing the impact of EUR 16.6 billion invested across 584 projects on real-world change. Although shifting the focus from activities to impacts is important, the report falls short in several key areas.
This story explores the changes that the EBRD has made to its revised safeguards, with a particular focus on human rights due diligence. Strengthening this aspect, particularly the EBRD’s weak enforcement of client requirements, has long been a key priority for Bankwatch and has informed the collective advocacy efforts of many other civil society organisations.
Following multiple allegations of human rights violations by Indorama Agro on a controversial cotton project funded by public development banks, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) has finally launched an investigation to determine whether the project adheres to the EBRD’s environmental and social standards.
The engagement of the EBRD in supporting the Amulsar gold mine in Armenia in its early stages resulted in adverse environmental, social, economic, and human rights impacts. The EBRD terminated funding to the client and exited the project, but the harm remains unremedied.
