WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, 68 groups from 28 countries across six continents sent a letter to World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim condemning the World Bank Group’s continued support for a deadly coal project in Gujarat, India. This action comes on the heels of a letter from over 100 groups in India demanding that the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation withdraw funding from the project, Tata Power’s 4,000-megawatt Mundra coal-fired power plant.
The letter follows a slew of media and community backlash over an IFC ruling that overturned CAO findings of significant problems with the Tata Mundra project.
The content of the letter drives home the point that Dr. Kim undermines the CAO’s credibility with his decision: “Mr. President, you must show that you are serious about your statements at previous WB/IMF annual meetings on climate, accountability and learning from past mistakes. The CAO found massive shortfalls at the IFC, showing that the mechanisms to uncover such issues are working. However, while the Tata Mundra project provided an opportunity to prove your commitment to learning from these failures, your clearance of the IFC response continues the lack of public accountability within the IFC. Unless the findings from the World Bank Group’s internal watchdogs, like the CAO and the Inspection Panel, are taken seriously and acted upon, their role is in name only. This decision undermines the mandate of CAO while allowing staff and management to avoid culpability.”
Groups signing on to the letter include: Sierra Club, US; Jubilee, Australia; Market Forces, Australia; Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), Bangladesh; Initiative for Right View, Bangladesh; Participatory Research Action Network-PRAN, Bangladesh; VOICE, Voices for Interactive Choice and Action, Bangladesh; 11.11.11 Coalition of the Flemish North South movement, Belgium;Carbon Market Watch, Belgium; CNCD11.11.11 (Centre national de coopération au développement), Belgium; Center for Environment, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Environment and Society Association, Colombia; Les Amis de la Terre, France; Urgewald, Germany; Abibiman Foundation, Ghana; AKSIi!F for gender, social and ecological justice, Indonesia; Debtwatch, Indonesia; Greenpeace Indonesia, Indonesia; Indonesia Civil Society Forum for Climate Justice (CSFCJI), Indoneisa; Norman Jiwan, Indonesia; UKPWR community against Coal, Indonesia; Re:Common, Italy; Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), Japan; Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya; Kosovo Civil Society Consortium for Sustainable Development, Kosovo; Centre for Human Rights and Development, Mongolia; Gobi Soil, Mongolia; OT Watch, Mongolia; Jal Sarokar Kendra, Nepal; BankTrack, Netherlands; Both ENDS, Netherlands; Climate Change Network Nigeria, Nigeria; Alyansa Tigil Mina, Philippines; Quercus – Associação Nacional de Conservação da Natureza, Portugal; Earthlife Africa Jhb, South Africa; National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, Sri Lanka; Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Taiwan; Zanzibar Climate Change Alliance, Tanzania; Green World Education Foundation, Thailand; Accountability Counsel, U.S.; Bank Information Center, U.S.; Center for Biological Diversity, U.S.; Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), U.S.; Earth Day Network, U.S.; Feminist Task Force, U.S.; Friends of the Earth U.S., U.S.; Inclusive Development International, U.S.; Institute for Policy Studies, Climate Policy Program, U.S.; Oil Change International, U.S.; Pacific Environment, U.S.; World Team Now, U.S.; Bretton Woods Project, UK; Climate and Health Council, UK; Forest Peoples Programme, UK; Indigenous Peoples Links (PIPLinks), UK; The Corner House, UK; World Development Movement, UK; National Ecological Centre of Ukraine, Ukraine; CHANGE (Center of Handson Actions and Networking for Growth and Environment), Vietnam; Development Centre (GreenID), Vietnam; Green Innovation, Vietnam; 350.org; Alpe Adria Green; Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe; Greenpeace International; Kyoto2; NGO Forum on ADB, Asia-Pacific; SEE Change Net
The letter, in it’s entirety, is available in PDF form here.