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Greenpeace, Allies Hold Ducroire/ Delcredere Accountable

On January 25, 2005, Greenpeace Belgium launched a report, assisted by Proyecto Gato and SEEN, titled "Exporting pollution: the double standards of Belgian climate policies." The report highlights the role of Ducroire/Delcredere, the Belgian state export credit agency (ECA), in supporting dirty energy projects in the South. Belgian domestic emission reductions under Kyoto (55 million Tonnes of CO2-equivalent from 2008-2012) will be more than offset (actually, more than 20 times offest) by the emissions of dirty energy projects supported by Ducroire/Delcredere with the Belgian State’s guarantee (1,324 million Tonnes CO2-equivalent)!

A Greenpeace press conference was held in the Belgian parliament and several MPs were present to highlight three proposed pieces of legislation to reform the Belgian ECA. Discussions of these proposed laws were planned in Parliament the next day.

Ducroire itself was present and argued that they are making progress from an environmental perspective. Greenpeace believes it is clear from their presentation and from subsequent comments, that their 'progress' is very slow and not far-reaching enough.

The 12 page Greenpeace report is available in printable (PDF) versions in French and Dutch at http://www.greenpeace.be, and as a PDF file in Spanish upon request. Dutch and French printed versions are also available upon request by writing to info_at_be.greenpeace.org. It should be available in English in PDF format soon.

On Tuesday February 15th, on the eve of the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, Greenpeace approached the Board of Directors of Ducroire/Delcredere to present their report to its members - among whom there are representatives of 6 federal Ministries. Several banners were hung on the Ducroire/Delcredere building calling for its proactive support for renewable energy projects. Windmill replicas were erected on the pavement in front of the building and at the same time, 5 tonnes of coal were dumped by their front door!

After some talks, Greenpeace representatives were received by the Chair of the Board and the Director of Ducroire/Delcredere. Following this conversation, they promised to invite Greenpeace to a working lunch soon to further discuss the reforms they are requesting. Greenpeace also hopes for a hearing in Parliament . They reported a good press presence at their action and a Reuters picture can be seen at: http://www.planetark.com/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/29570

The French version of the report can be found at http://www.greenpeace.org/belgium_fr/multimedia/download/1/722055/0/rapdelcredereFRdef.pdf

An outline of the methodology used to calculate CO2-equivalent emissions can be found on the web site of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network at http://www.seen.org/pages/db/method.shtml