World Bank Urged To Stop Financing Oil, Coal Projects
Thursday, December 11, 2003
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Investments
in oil, mining and gas projects by the World Bank
and other international financial institutions are
having irreversible social and environmental impacts
in developing countries, a report released today by
Friends of the Earth International says.
The
report, Hands Off: Why International Financial Institutions
Should Stop Drilling, Piping and Mining, analyzes
11 case studies describing the effects of large-scale
mining projects funded by international financial
instituions.
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It was
released at the opening of a three-day meeting of the World
Bank's independent Extractive Industries Review, taking
place in Lisbon.
According to Janneke Bruil of Friends of the Earth International,
"It is very significant that the harmful and dangerous
effects of investments in oil, mining and gas are acknowledged
by the World Bank, whose investments are supposed to alleviate
poverty."
Among
the recommendations given by the organization and other
participants in the review is that the bank must stop financing
coal and oil projects in developing countries, as well as
protect the human rights of the local population, who should
consent to any project prior to its beginning.
The
report will be officially presented to World Bank President
James Wolfensohn at the end of this month. The bank will
decide whether to follow recommendations from the EIR in
March (Friends of the Earth International release, Dec.
11).
In
related news, the World Bank announced Tuesday its formal
endorsement of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative,
launched in September 2002 by British Prime Minister Tony
Blair at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg.
The
initiative would create a transparent process in which institutions
and civil society would have access to information regarding
the amount and destination of revenues from oil, gas and
mining companies to the countries.
"We
believe this step will both underscore and expand the leadership
role that the Bank Group has had in fostering transparency,
ensuring accountability, and contributing to sustainable
development impact," said Rashad Kaldany, director
of the World Bank's Oil, Gas, Mining, and Chemicals Department
(World Bank release, Dec. 9).
Copyright, National Journal Group, Year.
