After two years as President at the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, architect of the Iraq war, tendered his resignation on Thursday evening. “I have concluded that it is in the best interests of those whom this institution serves for that mission to be carried forward under new leadership,” writes Wolfowitz in a statement posted on … Read More
development
British MPs Call for an End to Oil Aid:
British Member of Parliament, Michael Meacher, has introduced an “early day motion” that calls on the British aid agency, the Department for International Development, to stop subsidizing oil companies through development agencies like the World Bank. Other Members of Parliament are invited to endorse the motion, which will stay open until November. A similar motion … Read More
Heating up for Wolfowitz at the Bank
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is accusing beleaguered World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz of trying to weaken references to climate change in the World Bank’s Clean Energy and Investment Framework. GAP has released an internal summary of a February 2006 World Bank meeting on the Framework. The summary includes the following passage: “Feedback from the … Read More
An Appeal to Pelosi to Help End Oil Aid
Only 10 days after Congressman Maurice Hinchey introduced the End Oil Aid Bill in the U.S. Congress, more than 150 organizations from 50 countries have written to House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, recognizing her clean energy efforts and calling on her to lend support to eliminate international ‘oil aid’. The letter (Acrobat pdf) cites over $20 … Read More
Germans Unite Against Oil Aid!
A group of 40 German NGOs called on G8 Environment Ministers today to phase out fossil fuel subsidies at home and use their influence to steer the World Bank away from fossil fuels and towards a new energy revolution. A long list of German organizations, including the German NGO Forum on Environment and Development, Oxfam … Read More
Development Banks’ Inconvenient Truth
Multilateral development banks concluded a two day conference in London yesterday on “Financing Clean Energy”. Non-governmental organizations were generally shut out of the meeting, restricted to a handful of participants, but a long list of oil and energy companies were in attendance and they were ready to discuss just about anything other than phasing out … Read More
Climate Coalition Calls on G8 to End Oil Aid
The Climate Action Network (CAN), a worldwide network of over 365 Non-Governmental Organizations working together to fight climate change, called on the G8 today to “start a complete phase out of public financing for fossil fuel operations and oil aid and ensure that International Financial Institutions, such as the World Bank, become leaders in investing … Read More
WWF: British Government Should Stop Financing Big Oil
WWF is calling on the UK Government to stop using its Export Credit Agency (ECA) to subsidize Big Oil and other carbon intensive sectors. ECAs are public agencies that provide government-backed loans, guarantees, credits and insurance to private corporations from their home country to do business abroad.
Democrats: Get Sudanese Blood Off Our Federal Contracts
Congressional Democrats have introduced legislation that would bar some international companies from receiving U.S. government contracts if they continued to do business with Sudan. The bill is an attempt to put pressure on Sudan to do more to end the genocide in Darfur. Rep. Barbara Lee told reporters: “This bill is designed to wash the … Read More
UNCTAD: Rich Country Energy Needs are Shaping Aid in Africa
A new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) draws attention to the fact that rich countries are increasingly using aid money to advance their energy interests in Africa. The report argues that: “There are very clear signals that security concerns and energy politics are again shaping the policy debates on … Read More