In this submission, ECA Watch urges the newly-established Working Group to address the human rights impact of export credit agencies during its mandate. From December 8, 2011.
Briefings & reports from ECA watch members
Export credits: Fuelling illegal logging
A briefing sheet from ECA Watch member FERN, looking at the links between ECAs and illegal logging.
Case studies include:
- Asia Pulp and Paper (APP)
- Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Ltd (APRIL),
- The Bolivia Brazil Natural Gas pipelines
- The Camisea natural gas project
Blood from a stone: can the new EU Directive on access to information force ECAs to open up?
This briefing note from 2004 was published by FERN.
Covers transparency, the Aarhus Convention. and the Directive on Public Access to environmental information.
Review of dredging activities for entry channel and harbor basin of Promar S.A. shipyard, Suape, Brazil
(Feb 2013) This report from Wiert Wiertsema of Both ENDS examines the potential social and environmental impacts of dredging activity for an entry channel and harbor basin for the construction of the Promar shipyard. Findings are based on a Both ENDS visit to the Suape port in August 2012.
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!
ECA Watch Comments on Draft Revision of OECD Common Approaches
Letter from ECA Watch to members of the OECD’s ECG, November 8, 2011.
Among other issues, ECA Watch responds to text concerning human rights in the latest draft revision of the Common Approaches.
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.
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.”
FOOL’S GOLD: HOW THE PLANET PAYS THE PRICE FOR EUROPE’S EXPORT CREDITS
Member States’ Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) are undermining EU climate objectives by providing billions of euros worth of support for highly carbon-intensive projects and “techno-fixes” masquerading as environmental solutions. This new report highlights the most controversial recent agreements signed by ECAs, provides estimated figures of European Union export credit guarantees and shows how ECA financing favours export and investments that disproportionately benefit energy and carbon-intensive industries.
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF EXPORT CREDIT AGENCIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
With the onset of the global financial crisis and the subsequent squeeze in credit and insurance markets, there is a renewed global demand for export credit and investment insurance products offered by ECAs.
The effects of the current crisis will continue to be seen for years to come, and these developments will have a direct bearing on the landscape of ECAs and global trade finance.
This short report describes the changing landscape of ECAs in the context of the global financial crisis and the collapse of trade finance markets, and urges civil society actors to be watchful and monitor developments closely.
