Will EBRD cease coal funding?
Last June, President Obama called upon the national and international community to give no more public support to foreign coal. Shortly after this, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank EIB followed the example, setting stricter criteria for loans to energy companies, which will make it nuch more difficult, if not impossible for new coal plants to get financing from these banks.
Increasing pressure, 16000 signatures
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is one of the main institutions I focus on in my work, is still lagging behind in this respect. The Bank is currently reviewing its energy policy, but does not intend to exclude loans to polluting fossil fuels such as coal in a revised version. The pressure on the bank to stop financing new coal plants increases. This became clear in recent consultations on the new EBRD energy policy in Belgrade, Istanbul and Moscow. A petition urging the bank to step out of fossil fuels and invest more in renewable energy was supported by more than 16 thousand signatures and presented to the EBRD during the consultation in the Serbian capital.
Coalition against coal plants
Afterwards, we saw a small glimmer of hope: the EBRD announced to step out of the ‘Kolubara B project’: a controversial coal project in Serbia. The Bank seems to be stirred up internally. This was evident last week, when President Obama and the leaders of the Scandinavian countries and Iceland, stated that they will form a coalition against new public financing of coal plants. These major shareholders of the EBRD set a good example. Reading all this you sometimes think: when will the Netherlands start eliminating coal plants?
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Instalink / 3 November 2024 -
News / 1 November 2024Both ENDS at COP29: advocating for gender just climate finance
On November 11th, the 29th UN Climate Conference will start in Baku, Azerbaijan. Just like previous years, Both ENDS will be there to advocate for local access to climate finance, and to support our partner organisations in their advocacy work. How do we do that, and what are our hopes (and worries) about this 29th edition of the UNFCCC COP? We asked Marius Troost, who will be joining COP29 together with Daan Robben.
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Instalink / 31 October 2024
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Publication / 29 October 2024
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Instalink / 29 October 2024
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Instalink / 24 October 2024
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Publication / 21 October 2024
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News / 21 October 2024Disappointment over failure to submit National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
We are deeply disappointed and frustrated that the Dutch government has not submitted its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for the CBD COP16 in Cali. This disregard for international agreements undermines the concerted global effort to address the urgent biodiversity crisis.
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Instalink / 18 October 2024
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Instalink / 18 October 2024
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Instalink / 17 October 2024
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Instalink / 10 October 2024
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News / 3 October 2024CVM trial of Vale Executives over Brumadinho Dam Collapse brings new momentum
Fabio Schvartsman and Gerd Peter Poppinga attended a Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) trial session, last Tuesday, October 1st. Poppinga was convicted by one of the CMV directors, but the second CMV director requested more time to review the case files, postponing the judgment by 60 days. Victims’ families and supporters will have to keep waiting for justice regarding one of Brazil’s worst human and environmental disasters.
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Instalink / 3 October 2024
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Blog / 30 September 2024Of EACOP and tales of a defender in development
The Joke Waller-Hunter (JWH) Initiative creates opportunities for young people in the environmental sector in developing countries to unfold their full potential. By providing small grants to individuals to expand their knowledge, experience and training, the Initiative aims to strengthen environmental Civil Society Organisations capacity and efficiency. Grantee Brighton Aryampa wrote a column for Monitor about his journey to becoming a Human Rights Defender, and his work battling the EACOP.
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Publication / 24 September 2024
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News / 24 September 2024Massive Wildfires Ravage South America
“The fires have reached proportions we have never experienced before.”
Large swathes of South America are currently draped in smoke. From Buenos Aires, to São Paulo to Asunción people struggle to breathe due to unprecedented fires raging on the continent, fuelled by extreme drought, the expansion of the agriculture frontier and rising temperatures linked to climate change.
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Blog / 29 August 2024Local action for resilient wetlands and riparian lands of the Athi river basin in Kenya
and Kyra Pohlan
Communities throughout the Athi river basin rely on healthy and resilient semi-aquatic ecosystems, such as riparian and wetland areas, for their well-being and livelihoods. These habitats have become ever more important for local communities in adapting to the effects of climate change, in particular the more frequent and more extreme periods of drought and flooding. By conserving and re-establishing riparian lands and wetlands, groups from the Athi River Community Network do not only protect their immediate environment but also contribute to the well-being of downstream areas.
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News / 16 August 2024Statement on the denial of legal protection by the Philippines Court of Appeals towards environmental defenders Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano
Both ENDS expresses its profound concern over the recent decision by the Philippines Court of Appeals to deny legal protection to Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano against unlawful harassment and reprisals from state forces. Castro and Jhed are two young environmental human rights defenders who were violently abducted by Filipino armed forces in September 2023, for almost 17 days, in a case that made international headlines. The two women had been working as community organizers in Northern Manila Bay, where large-scale land reclamation's have wreaked havoc on communities and ecosystems.
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Letter / 22 July 2024
Joint Call to Action: International Civil Society Demands Justice for Berta Cáceres' Murder Victims in Honduras
This is a joint call to action by international civil society organizations to call upon the Honduran authorities to ensure there is justice for the victims of the murder on Berta Caceres. Eight years and four months have passed since the crime against Berta and the Honduran justice system has not confirmed the sentences of those convicted and has not prosecuted the intellectual authors. We are extremely concerned that independent administration of justice and international agreements on human rights are not being upheld.
