IF-EYE Newsletter
Issue #43
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A publication of the Bank Information Center (BIC)
Welcome to the August 20th, 2009 issue of the IF-EYE – the Bank Information Center’s monthly synthesis of key developments concerning international financial institutions. This issue spotlights a BIC letter to the editor on the World Bank's role in a new climate change framework, a BIC Op-Ed about the Bank's rush to certify Indonesia as Forest Carbon Partnership Facility ready and an article about carbon reduction and the world's poor. Please send suggestions, contributions and subscription requests to: info@bicusa.org. Thanks for reading!
in this issue:
1. SPOTLIGHT: World Bank: A Carbon Bigfoot
2. SPOTLIGHT: Put the brakes on the Bank: Carbon finance in Indonesia
3. SPOTLIGHT: The World Bank takes on climate change
4. SPOTLIGHT: Accreditation for the 2009 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings is now open!
5. Civil Society Updates
6. IFI Updates
7. Announcements and Resources
1. SPOTLIGHT: World Bank: A Carbon Bigfoot
8/3/2009 International Herald Tribune/New York Times Global Edition
The International Herald Tribune/New York Times Global Edition printed a BIC Letter to the Editor on the role of the World Bank in climate change. The letter argues that while climate policy is shifting from inertia to action, thanks in part to the commitment of a new U.S. administration, recent G-8 and U.S. domestic efforts are inadequate to address the threat of climate change. Any climate framework that ignores the role of publicly funded institutions, like the World Bank, will fall short.
Read the full letter to the editor:
World Bank: A Carbon Bigfoot, by Rebecca Harris, Bank Information Center, August 3, 2009 (IHT/NYT website)
2.SPOTLIGHT: Put the brakes on the Bank: Carbon finance in Indonesia
7/30/2009 The Huffington Post
Read a BIC op-ed in The Huffington Post about Indonesia's problematic Readiness Preparation Proposal to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility.
Read the article in the Huffington Post
Put the brakes on the bank: Carbon finance in Indonesia by Chad Dobson and Rebecca Harris, Bank Information Center, July 30, 2009 (Huffington Post website)
3. SPOTLIGHT: The World Bank takes on climate change
7/29/2009 CNET
A recent article on the World Bank's climate policies referenced a study by BIC's own Heike Mainhardt-Gibbs. While the Bank portrays itself as a champion of green energy, Mainhardt-Gibbs' study provided a valuable counterpoint highlighting the continued focus on fossil fuels within the World Bank's energy lending portfolio worldwide.
Read the article
The World Bank takes on climate change by Dara Kerr, CNET, July 29, 2009
4. SPOTLIGHT: Accreditation for the 2009 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings is now open
The 2009 World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings will be held on October 6 and 7, 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. All CSO representatives interested in participating in the Annual Meetings must obtain individual accreditation. To apply for accreditation, please fill out the online request form. Accreditation will remain open until Monday, September 21. Representatives are encouraged to apply early. Visit the Bank's website for more information about civil society participation at the forthcoming Annual Meetings.
As in previous years, the Bank and IMF Civil Society Teams will also be organizing a Civil Society Policy Forum from Saturday, October 3 through Wednesday, October 7. Information on the Policy Forum and the schedule of sessions will be posted by early September. If you have any questions about the Annual Meetings and/or are interested in organizing a policy session, the Bank requests that you please send an email to civilsociety@worldbank.org or to ngoliaison@imf.org.
BIC will also be sending out regular updates with event information as we get closer to the meetings.
5. Civil society updates:
Beyond the world creditors’ cartel
8/17/2009 Various international financial institutions
Dariush Sokolov takes a look into the resurgence of the IMF and other IFI's in the wake of the financial crisis. He sees not just a return to relevance for institutions once shunned, but also an opportunity for the global South to take greater control of its economic fate through new agreements. BIC's Vince McElhinny is quoted.
Read the article
Read more (Dollars and Sense website)
World Bank violates its own standards developing oil palm sector in Indonesia
8/10/2009 Forest Peoples Programme
The World Bank’s private sector arm – the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – has allowed commercial interests to override its social and environmental standards in making major loans to the oil palm sector in Indonesia, an internal audit reveals.
Read more (BIC Website)
Civil society critique on implementation of IFC Policy and Performance Standards
7/31/2009 Various organizations
DC civil society issues a critique highlighting concerns surrounding the implementation of IFC's Policy and Performance Standards and ambiguities with the forthcoming review process.
Read more (BIC website)
Civil society demands community input into IFC policy review
7/29/2009 Various organizations
Nearly 150 civil society organizations write to IFC urging consultations with individuals and communities directly impacted by its projects as it reviews three years of implementation of the Performance Standards.
Read more (BIC website)
Climate Follies: Bankrolling dirty power in developing countries
7/17/2009 Ceres
A recent article by Mindy S. Lubber reveals that while the industrialized world is struggling to cut its emissions, it is simultaneously bankrolling the construction of thousands upon thousands of megawatts of new coal-fired power in developing countries through international financial institutions such as the World Bank.
Read the article in the Huffington Post
Climate follies: Bankrolling dirty power in developing countries by Mindy S. Lubber, Ceres, July 14, 2009 (Huffington Post website)
Rights and Development: What progress at the world's largest aid agency?
7/7/2009 Environmental Defense Fund
A new article by Dr. Korinna Horta of the Environmental Defense Fund outlines the World Bank's commitment to human rights to date and advocates that the institution integrate a human rights approach into its own policies and programs.
Read the full article:
Rights and Development: What Progress at the World's Largest Aid Agency? By Korinna Horta, Disrespect Today, Conflict Tomorrow: The Politics of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2009 (PDF, 1,409KB)
6. IFI Updates:
IFC to collaborate with China in Africa's oil industry
8/10/2009 Bank Information Center
Reuters reports that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning closer cooperation with China to fund increased investment in Sub-Saharan Africa's growing oil and gas industry. IFC sees great potential in the continent as it is fast becoming an important source of oil and gas and is attracting interest from Europe, Russia and Asia.
Read more (BIC website)
US Treasury position on the World Bank Energy Strategy Concept Note
7/24/2009 Department of Treasury
The US Department of Treasury released a statement on July 16, 2009 describing their position on the recent World Bank Energy Strategy Concept Note. The Concept Note outlines the World Bank's forthcoming Energy Strategy Approach Paper, which should be released in September, 2009.
Read the US Statement on the World Bank Group Energy Strategy Concept Note, July 16, 2009 (PDF, 54KB)
IDB ignores substance of civil society replenishment recommendations
7/21/2009 Bank Information Center
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) sidestepd civil society concerns raised regarding a proposal advanced by the IDB in Santiago, Chile on July 2 to increase its capital base by $100-$200 billion, which would triple Bank annual lending from an average of $US 6 billion since the last replenishment to a projected $16-19 billion per year.
Read more (BIC Website)
Reviews fail to erase doubts over World Bank conditionality
7/10/2009 Bretton Woods Project
Reviews of World Bank development policy lending and poverty and social impact analysis leave questions as to the extent to which the Bank's budget support in developing countries targets pro-poor initiatives.
Read more (Bretton Woods Project)
We want your feedback, as long as you speak English
7/2/2009 Aid Watch
William Easterly, NYU Professor of Economics and independent voice in international development brings attention to the World Bank's problematic policies on translation.
Read the article in aid watch
We want your feedback, as long as you speak English by William Easterly, NYU, July 2, 2009 (Aid Watch Blog)
7. Announcements and Resources:
BIC's new page on IFC policy and standards review
In 2009-2010, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will revise its Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability for the first time since the standards were adopted in 2006. Accordingly, BIC has launched a new webpage devoted to monitoring and analyzing the review process. You can find the page by clicking on "IFC Policies and Standards Review" in the spotlighted items on BIC's homepage or you can access it directly by clicking here. For questions or concerns about this page or about our IFC policies and standards review campaign, please e-mail Said Yakhyoev at syakhyoev@bicusa.org.
IFC launches site on oil, gas, mining and chemicals
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has launched a web site focusing on the World Bank affiliate’s oil, gas, mining, and chemical funding activities. The site features information on IFC’s financing and advisory services for extractive industries, revenue disclosure figures and in-depth project analyses. The site can be found by clicking here.