Bowing to public pressure, Rizal becomes first bank in Philippines to exit coal
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) made the announcement after years of pressure from climate activists in the Philippines and an investigation of the bank’s practices by one of its most prominent shareholders, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation. “[N]o more coal. I’ll say that slowly: no more coal,” said the bank’s president and CEO, Eugene Acevedo, at […]
Open letter to World Bank President Malpass on selection of the next CAO Vice President
Dear President Malpass, We, the undersigned organizations, write with regards to the selection of the next Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) Vice President. As civil society organizations working to support people affected by IFC and MIGA projects around the world, we appreciate your commitment to ensure that the CAO is a robust, responsive and independent accountability […]
Saying no to coal: IFC’s new Green Equity Approach unveiled
The World Bank’s private lending arm has unveiled its new approach to greening equity investments in financial institutions. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) says it will end equity investments in financial institutions that do not have a plan to phase out investments in coal-related activities. The “30 by 30 Zero Program” aims to help the banking […]
Realizing the right to an effective remedy: Joint Submission on the External Review of IFC/MIGA Accountability
Inclusive Development International has submitted Joint Comments on Realizing the Right to Effective Remedy within the IFC/MIGA Accountability Framework to the World Bank Group’s Board of Directors. The comments, which we prepared along with Accountability Counsel, Bank Information Centre, Center for International Environmental Law and the Arab Watch Coalition, were submitted in response to a public […]
World Bank-Backed Rio Tinto-Alcoa Joint Venture Relocates Guinean Village During Covid-19 Lockdown
While communities across Guinea were under Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders, a joint venture owned by mining giants Alcoa and Rio Tinto relocated more than a hundred families to expand its sprawling bauxite mine. Residents of Hamdallaye village in the Boké region of Guinea, who have been seeking redress for the loss of their ancestral farmlands and […]
Communities file complaint against World Bank, demanding halt to HeidelbergCement project in Indonesia
Community representatives in Indonesia have filed a complaint against the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank, for its indirect financing of a potentially devastating HeidelbergCement limestone mine and cement factory on their territory in Central Java. According to the complaint, which was filed on the eve of the company’s annual shareholders […]
Joint Call for Greater Transparency and Consultation in the IFC/MIGA Accountability Review
(October 25, 2019) – Inclusive Development International and 74 global partners submitted a joint statement to the World Bank Group’s Board of Directors, expressing concerns about the lack of transparency and external stakeholder engagement in the accountability framework review of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
Watchdog to investigate World Bank Group’s opaque support for coal expansion in Philippines
The International Finance Corporation’s independent watchdog has announced that it will launch a compliance investigation into the World Bank Group member for its investments in a commercial bank in the Philippines that bankrolled the country’s recent coal power boom. After receiving $254 million in IFC funds, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation became a key financier of […]
When funding fuels fire: the ins and outs of responsible mining finance – Mine | Issue 81 | June 19
The World Bank’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is currently considering a complaint made against the International Finance Corporation, a sister organisation of the World Bank, for funding the expansion of a controversial bauxite mining project. Such grievances are not uncommon and it is hard not to wonder, is CAO powerful enough to hold organisations, including […]
New report exposes World Bank links to destructive coal mining in Indonesia
(April 11, 2019, Washington DC) – The World Bank Group is quietly bankrolling some of Indonesia’s most destructive coal mining companies, despite instituting a virtual ban on coal financing in 2013, according to a report released today.