Europe/Central Asia Program (ECA)

This session at the World Bank Annual General Meetings 2016 Civil Society Policy Forum examines development policy financing (DPF) as a tool for scaling-up positive environmental and social impact amidst the global climate crisis. It features case study findings from recent operations that represent challenges to the achievement of World Bank climate and forest commitments …

This World Bank Annual Meetings 2016 Civil Society Policy Forum session addressed how the World Bank Group can ensure that its financial intermediary (FI) investments are consistent with its forest and climate commitments. New research by Inclusive Development International on the impacts of IFC FI investments on forests, land rights, and climate was presented. A …

Photo © Joe Athialy (Washington DC, October 3, 2016) – The World Bank Group has secretly funded a coal boom in Asia despite announcing a moratorium on such projects in 2013, according to the results of a new investigation. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has spoken forcefully about the dangers of new coal projects. …

Despite an unprecedented consultative process involving thousands of stakeholders from government, civil society, and the private sector, the review and update of the World Bank safeguard policies has proven to be a missed opportunity for the Bank to reclaim its place as a global leader in development. While the new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) …

Joint letter asks the World Bank to go public with the final draft of its safeguard policies WASHINGTON, DC Today, 69 civil society organizations from 26 different countries asked World Bank management to maintain transparency throughout the ongoing review of its environmental and social policies. The World Bank’s environmental and social safeguard policies have been …

The World Bank has committed to 100% beneficiary feedback in its projects and aims through its corporate strategy to empower citizens to participate in the development process. At the same time, since 2012 over 60 countries have passed legislation restricting civil society’s ability to freely operate and many communities face intimidation or criminalization when raising …

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Water Disputes Persist as Rio Tinto Pushes Ahead with Second Oyu Tolgoi Mine (PRAGUE; KHANBOGD SOUM, MONGOLIA, February 10, 2016) – A large new copper mine in Mongolia could cause irreversible damage to terrain and deprive water from some of the world’s last remaining nomadic herding groups, finds a new report released today …

[Valerie Plesch/Al Jazeera] BIC’s Nezir Sinani was quoted in an Al Jazeera article on Kosovo’s coal country by Valerie Plesch. The article finds that “residents living in the polluting shadows of two power plants may soon contend with a third.” Find the full article here.

The World Bank seems eager to provide financial support to the Kosovar government for construction of a new coal-based power plant. But what about the people who are in the path of the expanded power plant and coal mine? Kosovo and the World Bank are trying to avoid responsibility for the impoverishment and suffering that will surely come on the heels of the involuntary resettlement of over 7,000 Kosovars from their homes and communities.

A Kosovo police officer inspects the damage caused by an explosion that rocked Kosovo’s main power plant, in Obilic, Kosovo, Friday, June 6, 2014 Photo: AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu via Climate Progress On Friday, Kosovo’s oldest lignite-based power plant exploded, killing two and injuring 13 people. The accident is the latest to occur in this country’s …