Bankwatch

Letter to EBRD: National ROads Programme in Macedonia

Advocacy letter | November 6, 2014

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Transport

Time to stop shooting the messenger

Repression against civil society is on the rise, as the latest alarming case from Montenegro shows.

Tags: civil society corruption elections human rights MANS Montenegro Vanja Calovic Balkans

The Great Rush - The European Union's responsibility in natural resources grabbing

Study | October 31, 2014

Land, forests, water and raw materials are valuable resources that increasingly interest the major players of the economy of our planet. This report collects 16 case studies from around the world in order to better understand the impacts of natural resource grabbing on the local communities, clarify the responsibilities of the European Union and, in conclusion, examine actions to be undertaken to invert this phenomenon.

Institution: EBRD, EIB, World Bank Group

Theme: Other harmful projects, Mining

Two great new websites on all things coal

As anti-coal movements are gaining momentum around the world, two new websites offer a slew of information about the dirtiest of fossil fuels and the campaigns against it. They also offer a stark reminder that despite progress in the last years coal is far from dead.

Tags: BankTrack campaign coal commercial banks endcoal.org resources Balkans Central Asia EU Global South

Institution: Chinese investors, Commercial banks, EBRD, EIB, World Bank Group

Theme: Energy & climate

European Ombudsman: EIB weakens EU efforts to strengthen rule of law

October 30, 2014

Brussels – In an unprecedented ruling this week, the European Ombudsman concluded at the end of an investigation into the EIB’s involvement with a road construction project in Bosnia and Herzegovina that the institution’s behaviour was "totally unacceptable" and it "risked putting into question the EU’s commitment for strengthening the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Institution: EIB

Theme: Transport

Tags: complaint mechanism, compliance, safeguards, Balkans, EU

Poland's 'dirty' Eastern block shows some cracks

October 28, 2014

Source: Ondrej Pasek, EurActiv

Horse trading intensifies as the eleventh hour approaches for the EU to decide on its 2030 climate and energy policy. And while Poland has led an Eastern coalition to resist ambitious targets for Europe, Ondrej Pasek writes that some may be only reluctantly following Warsaw.

Tags: EU

Melting glaciers add to woes at Kumtor

October 28, 2014

Source: Ryskeldi Satke et co., Asia Times Online

Kumtor mine is the largest open pit gold deposit in Central Asia, whose majority shareholder since 2004 has been Centerra Gold, a Canadian mining company. The mine sits at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level, in the Tien Shan mountain range and among some of Kyrgyzstan's - and the region's - most important glaciers. These feed into the Naryn (Kyrgyzstan) and Syrdarya (Uzbekistan) rivers. Kumtor's main gold-bearing ore lies under glaciers adjacent to Kyrgyzstan's Sarychat-Ertash state reserve.

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Energy & climate

Tags: Central Asia

Marubeni, hands off Plomin!

As Marubeni executive Hiroshi Tachigami attended today's Energy Market Conference in Zagreb this morning, Greenpeace activists hung a banner from the Vatroslav Lisinski concert hall in Zagreb, advising Marubeni to keep its hands off the Plomin C coal power plant project.

Tags: Alstom coal Marubeni Plomin C protest Balkans

Theme: Energy & climate

Visegrad countries push for more gas imports in 2030 deal

October 22, 2014

Prague – The Visegrad plus 2 countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, together with Romania and Bulgaria) have all included a strong statement of support for the Southern Gas Corridor into their comments to the drafted EU 2030 Council conclusions to begin in Brussels this Thursday.

Institution: EU Funds

Theme: Energy & climate

Tags: 2030 targets, Visegrad countries, CEE, EU

Can the European Investment Bank move ahead of the pack on climate?

The European Investment Bank is gearing up for an increased role in spurring growth in Europe as set out by the new Juncker Commission. Yet as Europe’s 2030 climate targets are being undermined by some countries the bank that wants to be a leader in climate action must keep in mind that we can no longer afford growth without sustainability.

Tags: 2030 targets climate climate action EIB energy Juncker Commission policy EU Global South

Institution: EIB

Theme: Energy & climate