(June 11, 2012) Press release launched on the day that more than 30 European non governmental organisations (NGOs) delivered a letter calling on governments not to fund a new pulp mill proposed by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world’s most controversial pulp and paper companies. The plant is planned to be build in Sumatra, Indonesia where APP is estimated to have already pulped more than two million hectares of natural rainforests.
Friends of the Earth Japan
Financing Nuclear Times
This newspaper style publication outlines the history of Export Credit Agencies’ support for the nuclear industry and concludes by detailing the destructive projects still in the pipeline.
Articles include; Crippling losses and corruption: nuclear exports Canadian-style; Gift RAPP: Canada’s support for nuclear power and proliferation in India and Pakistan; Nuclear – a publicly subsidised love affair; and German nuclear exports 2009 – 2011:Back to square one!
Member State compliance with Article 21 of the Lisbon Treaty
On 6 August 2012, ECA Watch and the European Coalition for Corporate Justice sent a letter to the President of the Commission Jose Manuel Barroso requesting a meeting to discuss how the Commission intends to monitor Member State compliance with Article 21 of the Lisbon Treaty and how NGOs can be involved in the elaboration of an appropriate compliance framework
Letter: ECA Watch to Head of Export Credits Division, OECD
(8 November 2011) This letter from ECA Watch outlines the network’s position the OECD Draft Sector Understanding on Renewable Energy, Climate Change Mitigation and Water Projects.
Giving human rights credit: EU countries agree to toughen export loan scrutiny
(June 29, 2011) A press release from ECA-Wach, Amnesty International and Eurodad. It welcomes EU permanent representatives’ endorsement of the European Parliament’s proposal to make national export credit agencies (ECAs) more accountable for the support they give companies doing business around the world. The three organisations believe this move will increase transparency and human rights compliance and hope that this will trigger more ambitious reforms in EU capitals, leading to a general reform in global ECA standards.
European Parliament demands that Export Credit Agencies open up
(April 6, 2011) This press release by ECA-Watch outlines the importance of the European Parliament’s adoption of a proposal to regulate Export Credit Agencies (ECAs). This move will make ECAs more transparent on where their funds come from and go to, as well as how they charge for social and environmental risks. Furthermore, the Parliament requires ECAs to comply with EU human rights objectives in their activities, and to phase out the subsidising of fossil fuel projects in line with commitments adopted by the G20 in 2009.
Export Credit Agencies and Climate Change: a briefing for Cancun
(December 2, 2010) After the collapse of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks in Copenhagen in December 2009, the future financial architecture for funding climate change mitigation and adaptation continues to be fiercely debated. At the 2010 climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, the issue will again be on the table for negotiation.
In Cancun, the role of public and private finance will be considered, and thus the role of export credit agencies (ECAs). ECAs sit at the nexus of public and private finance, and may become increasingly important. Many ECAs support billions of dollars worth of exports to fossil-fuel projects which emit greenhouse gases. ECA financing for fossil fuels eclipses ECA financing for climate-friendly technologies.
This briefing outlines the negative impact of ECA fossil fuel financing. The paper also raises the question of whether ECAs have a role to play in contributing to “climate finance.”
Hope that G-20 will close loophole and end all fossil fuel subsidies
(November 11, 2010) Released the day before the November 2010 G-20 summit in Seoul, this press release by ECA-Watch outlines why G-20 leaders should ensure ECAs are included in efforts to end fossil fuel subsidies.
European Parliament passes resolution to end taxpayer support for fossil fuels projects
Brussels, 29 November 2007 – With a resounding majority (540 MEPs in favour), the European Parliament today passed a resolution on trade and climate change which calls for “the discontinuation of public support, via export credit agencies and public investment banks, for fossil fuel projects”.
NGOs Walk Out of OECD Meeting on Official Export Credits
(November 7, 2007) Citing their frustrations at years of silence in response to repeated proposals for effective implementation of environmental and social standards, as well as for coherence with related OECD goals and agreements, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) representing hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in OECD member nations, walked out of an OECD meeting called to consult civil society organisations.
