Studies
[NGO Study] Never mind the balance sheet - the dangers posed by public-private partnerships in central and eastern Europe
(November 27, 2008)
In recent years public-private partnerships (PPPs)
have been heavily promoted in central and eastern
Europe (CEE), often giving the impression that where
infrastructure is concerned, PPPs are the only game in
town. Yet behind the plethora of conferences, workshops
and publications, few CEE countries have implemented
more than two or three PPP projects, and even fewer
truly successful projects.
As George Monbiot, UK author and investigative journalist, says of the Private Finance Initiative, the British variant on PPP:
“The reality is that PFI, or “public private partnership”
as the government now prefers to call it, is a scam. (...)
Far from introducing market disciplines, it has become an
official licence to fleece the taxpayer. Far from reducing
the public sector borrowing requirement, PFI is, as the
Accounting Standards Board has noted, simply an “an
off-balance sheet fiddle”. Most alarmingly, the ministers I
have spoken to simply do not understand how it works.”
George Monbiot, UK author and investigative journalist.
[NGO Study] Fuelling the fire: European Investment Bank financing for the incineration industry
(May 29, 2008)
The European Investment Bank is mandated to promote EU policy with its project investments and invested over EUR 1.5 billion in 33 waste management projects between 2000 and 2006, the majority of which were in the EU. If the EIB is to truly support the implementation of EU policy, this bias towards incineration investments must be halted. The EIB needs to seize the opportunity of the Waste Framework Directive revision to review and publish its waste lending policy, and to ensure that it promotes waste reduction and recycling in concrete financial terms rather than continuing to lend financial support to incineration.
[NGO Study] In the wake of ArcelorMittal - the global steel giant's local impacts
(May 13, 2008)
The publication shows how local residents, workers and the environment pay the price for ArcelorMittal's success. The compilation contains case studies examining Mittal's IFC- and EBRD-financed plants in Romania, Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan.
[NGO Study] Energy Matters: the Vlora coastal terminal. Fact-finding mission report on energy and industry developments in Vlora, Albania
(April 5, 2008)
The report summerises the findings of a recent Bankwatch and partner NGO fact-finding mission to Albania, in which meetings with the Albanian authorities, IFIs, investors and affected communities provided insights into large industrial and energy developments in the region.
Bankwatch is seriously concerned about the lack of a coherent development strategy for Vlora district from the EBRD’s side as well as the imbalance in the EBRD’s overall lending portfolio in Albania which seems to favour energy, oil and heavy industry over agribusiness, tourism, energy efficiency and lending to small and medium enterprise.
Bankwatch is seriously concerned about the lack of a coherent development strategy for Vlora district from the EBRD’s side as well as the imbalance in the EBRD’s overall lending portfolio in Albania which seems to favour energy, oil and heavy industry over agribusiness, tourism, energy efficiency and lending to small and medium enterprise.
[NGO Study] EBRD financed Tbilisi Public Transport Project
(March 1, 2008)
Tbilisi, with a population of more than 1.5 million people, manifests all the signs of environmental stress - poor air quality, excessive noise, traffic congestion, loss of green areas and degradation of historical buildings and monuments. Road transport is responsible for an increasing share of total air emissions, their contribution rising from some 70 percent in 1991 to about 91 percent in 2005. In July 2005, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development lent EUR 3 million to the "Municipal Auto Transport Company Ltd". The project was aiming to purchase 150 municipal buses, spare parts and workshop equipment and reform the regulatory framework for public transport in Tbilisi. However, the implementation of the project has actually led to increased environmental and social stress, while the development of a sustainable public transport scheme that would mitigate existing problems is still not defined.
There is much to be done in order to reform the public transport management system in a way which responds to the needs of Tbilisi’s citizens but the top priority should be given to the development and public discussion of a Tbilisi City Sustainable Transport Management Plan and undertaking a social assessment to identify mitigation measures for vulnerable people.
There is much to be done in order to reform the public transport management system in a way which responds to the needs of Tbilisi’s citizens but the top priority should be given to the development and public discussion of a Tbilisi City Sustainable Transport Management Plan and undertaking a social assessment to identify mitigation measures for vulnerable people.
[NGO Study] The Gilgel Gibe affair: an analysis of the Gilbel Gibe hydroelectric projects in Ethiopia
(February 28, 2008)
The study illustrates the dangers that accompany large energy infrastructure
projects whenever the interests of a major private company coincide not only with weak
governance in the host country but also very clear willingness from financial institutions
to provide funding, in spite of alarming project oversights and impacts. The study shows
how goals to eradicate poverty and support local communities can be easily compromised
when major corporations and/or political elites are intent on maximising profits.
[NGO Study] Hellfire economics: multinational companies and the contract dispute over Kashagan, the world’s largest undeveloped oilfield
(January 12, 2008)
[NGO Study] Real energy security is staring us in the face. Renewable energy case studies from South East Europe
(December 18, 2007)
The publication sets out to provide a quick snapshot of renewable energy projects in south-east Europe. With a host of fossil fuel and nuclear projects currently being proposed across the region, sustainable energy initiatives have it difficult to reach the general public. While international financial flows generally follow the bigger, “easier-to-handle” projects, unfortunately only small drops are adding up to create a renewable energy and energy efficiency future. The case studies from Croatia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia show that renewable energy can have a significant role in lowering budgets for electricity, heating and hot water. The study concludes that renewable energy projects should be considered within a framework for sustainable development that integrates energy demand reduction and efficiency, a mix of renewable energy sources to meet an increasing proportion of overall energy demand and the protection of communities and biodiversity.
[NGO Study] Kashagan oil field development
(December 5, 2007)
Based on direct information fromlocal NGOs, research, results froma fact finding mission and spurred on by the lack ofmonitoring activities carried out on behalf or by any relevant international institutions, governments or financial institutions, this Report aims to increase awareness about possible negative impacts of the Kashagan oil field development among the public in European countries and to provide support to local NGOs in Kazakhstan.
The “Extractive industries: blessing or curse?” project aims to ensure that the performance of the Extractive Industries in developing countries is substantially improved, in order to ensure that it has a positive impact on poverty reduction and that it does not contribute to social and environmental problems.
The “Extractive industries: blessing or curse?” project aims to ensure that the performance of the Extractive Industries in developing countries is substantially improved, in order to ensure that it has a positive impact on poverty reduction and that it does not contribute to social and environmental problems.
[NGO Study] Kaniv pump storage plant: project risks
(November 12, 2007)
In March 2006, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved the "Energy Strategy of Ukraine till 2030." The Strategy foresees the growth of electric power generation mainly by the development of Ukraine's power engineering due to the priority usage of nuclear energy. As nuclear power plants (NPPs) do not represent loads-shifting generating capacities, there is a problem with loads-shifting in the network. For this purpose the Strategy foresees the installation of loads-shifting capacities - or pump storage plants (PSPs). But the construction of the Kaniv PSP is an unlikely solution to the problems of the Ukrainian power sector and will have a number of negative environmental, social and economical impacts. The present report provides a detailed analysis of those impacts.
[NGO Study] Raising the bar on big dams: making the case for dam policy reform at the European Investment Bank
(November 5, 2007)
The European Investment Bank has been involved in a number of large dam projects in recent years, many of them in Africa. All could have been improved – sometimes significantly so – by more careful planning and better implementation standards. Despite making vague references to the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams, the EIB currently has no sector policy for dams. Many of the EIB’s large dam projects have also had World Bank involvement, and the World Bank’s standards and due diligence drove the process, with the EIB bringing little or no “added value” regarding safeguard policies or improved planning processes.
This report describes the problems with past EIB dam projects, how the WCD might have been invoked to bring “added value” to the process, and ways forward to improve the EIB’s role in water and energy projects in future.
This report describes the problems with past EIB dam projects, how the WCD might have been invoked to bring “added value” to the process, and ways forward to improve the EIB’s role in water and energy projects in future.
[NGO Study] European Investment Bank: Promoting sustainable development, "where appropriate"
(November 5, 2007)
This report aims to inform the ongoing review of environmental and social practices within the EIB by examining the standards endorsed by the EIB in a variety of social policy areas, and identifying ‘international best practices’ against which the EIB’s new framework will invariably be judged. Specifically, it will focus on five different social policy areas in which EIB policy remains unclarified and underdeveloped; social assessment, human rights, communities’ participation and consent, labour rights, and gender equality.
By surveying key publicly available documents issued by the EIB, the report intends to identify the gaps between the EIB’s existing social policies and the standards embedded in EU laws, conventions and mandates that inform its relations with developing countries, as well as the policies and procedures of both public and private financial institutions that provide loans to developing countries.
By surveying key publicly available documents issued by the EIB, the report intends to identify the gaps between the EIB’s existing social policies and the standards embedded in EU laws, conventions and mandates that inform its relations with developing countries, as well as the policies and procedures of both public and private financial institutions that provide loans to developing countries.
[NGO Study] Transparency at the IMF- a guide for civil society on getting access to information
(October 4, 2007)
While at times technical and full of jargon, the information published by the IMF can be important for civil society organizations that want to hold their governments to account for decisions made on economic policies. Especially important is how governments spend their money. This can often be constrained by the decisions of the IMF. Only by using all information and resources available will civil society organizations, such as those trying to improve health systems, be able to confront governments and international institutions and advance reform.
This guide first reviews the Fund’s disclosure policy and measures some of its key elements against the Transparency Charter for the IFIs. The next section discusses what information is available from the IMF and which documents contain it. The fourth section covers mechanisms of getting access to those documents before concluding. A glossary of IMF jargon can be found after that.
[NGO Study] Preliminary fact-finding mission report: Kashagan oil field development Kazakhstan
(September 13, 2007)
[NGO Study] Comments on the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Demir Kapija - Smokvica highway project
(July 30, 2007)
[NGO Study] Independent Recourse Mechanism: Three years on the questions remain and who is it for – the EBRD or those affected by EBRD projects?
(June 21, 2007)
Four years since the approval of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM) policy and three years after finalising its procedures, Bankwatch has decided to put forward NGO experiences and assess how this compliance mechanism is functioning. This paper shows that the IRM, as it was designed, is effective in preventing requests to look into the compliance of certain projects with EBRD policies. The IRM is used only in environmental matters, it restricts the participation of NGOs and it is toothless when it comes to project sponsors after the approval of projects. The Bankwatch study includes a legal analysis of the IRM’s compliance with the principles of the Aarhus Convention which finds that the mechanism’s limitations do not comply with the Convention and as a result narrow the opportunities of public involvement in the review.
[NGO Study] IFI Transparency and the Aarhus Convention
(June 18, 2007)
Members of the Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) prepared this paper to examine implementation of the Transparency Charter for International Financial Institutions from the perspective of the Aarhus Convention.
The Transparency Charter for International Financial Institutions: Claiming our Right to Know is based on the right to access information held by public bodies—a fundamental human right set out in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas”. This right applies to intergovernmental organisations, just as it does at the national level.
The Transparency Charter for International Financial Institutions: Claiming our Right to Know is based on the right to access information held by public bodies—a fundamental human right set out in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas”. This right applies to intergovernmental organisations, just as it does at the national level.
[NGO Study] The Khudoni dam: a necessary solution to the Georgian energy crisis?
(June 7, 2007)
This report questions whether the solution for the troubled Georgian energy sector is the Khudoni Dam, a project which has already received World Bank grants for feasibility studies. The report also highlights the likely severe negative impacts of the dam construction on people in Georgia. The report underlines that the government of Georgia, as well as the international financial institutions playing a role in Georgia’s development such as the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, should ensure the sustainability of the national power sector’s development path through the attraction of investments for the rehabilitation of existing generating capacities, energy efficiency and the development of small local renewable (hydro, wind, solar) resources.
[NGO Study] EIB’s transparency performance: rules and day-to-day practice in access to information
(June 5, 2007)
This report analyses the EIB's transparency performance in the policy making process and the implementaion of rules on access to information. While revealing that the EIB is able to deliver a participatory process in the formulation of the Public Disclosure Policy (PDP), at the same time the report sheds new light on the EIB's incompliance with European Community rules on access to information as well as missing obligations towards the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters.
[NGO Study] Lost in Transportation: The European Investment Bank’s bias towards road and air transport
(April 18, 2007)
This report finds that the multi-million euro loans of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the transport sector are helping to fuel climate change and have made little or no contribution to the more progressive goals of the EU White Paper on transport, especially those on modal shift and decoupling transport from economic growth. The report analyses the EUR 112 billion that the EIB provided to transport projects in the period 1996-2005. In terms of annual loan volumes, the EIB is the biggest public international financial institution in the world and its activities are supposed to promote the policies of the European Union
CEE Bankwatch Network gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.