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Pistes pour une Europe citoyenne
The text advocates for a new fundamental law for the EU, created via an open constituent assembly, to redefine its missions and decision-making processes. It proposes strengthening the role of national parliaments by integrating them with the European Parliament, particularly regarding budgetary rights, to prevent the dominance of powerful states like Germany. Additionally, it calls for the expansion of participatory democracy tools, such as the European Citizens' Initiative, petitions, and citizen panels, arguing that current efforts by the European Commission have often been reduced to mere communication exercises rather than genuine levers for policy influence.
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Document type: Statement
14.02.14.WB-let-with-BIC.pdf
The document is a formal request to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim to reinstate B-SPAN, a webcasting system launched in 2000 that streamed unedited policy dialogues to the public. The authors argue that B-SPAN is essential for knowledge sharing and transparency, countering Bank officials' claims that there is low interest in lengthy policy discussions. They propose starting with the webcasting of civil society sessions at Bank-IMF meetings to help achieve the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.
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Document type: Statement
Liberemos a la ONU de la cooptación empresarial
The document examines the increasing influence of multinational corporations within the UN, specifically regarding the 'Green Economy', 'Sustainable Energy for All' (SE4ALL), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), water policies, and the UN Global Compact. It contends that these partnerships lead to 'greenwashing' and the commodification of nature and water, while marginalizing civil society and the rights of the poor.
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Document type: Report
banco mundial: catalizador del cambio climático devastador
The report criticizes the World Bank for its continued investment in 'dirty energy' and its leadership in expanding carbon markets. It highlights specific projects, such as the Medupi coal plant in South Africa and the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos, as evidence of environmental and social harm. The document further contends that the Bank's promotion of REDD and carbon offsets leads to the privatization of forests and the marginalization of indigenous rights, while its role as an interim trustee for the Green Climate Fund is viewed as undemocratic and conflicted.
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Document type: Report
world bank: catalysing catastrophic climate change
The report criticizes the World Bank for its continued funding of coal-fired power plants and large hydropower projects, which it claims lock developing nations into high-carbon futures and cause significant social and environmental harm. It specifically highlights the Medupi plant in South Africa and the Tata Mundra plant in India as examples of 'dirty energy' investment. The document also attacks the Bank's role in expanding carbon markets and REDD schemes, arguing that these mechanisms privatize forests, marginalize Indigenous peoples, and allow rich nations to avoid real emission cuts. Finally, it expresses concern over the Bank's role as the interim trustee of the Green Climate Fund, citing a lack of democratic accountability and a poor track record on social justice.
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Document type: Report
Capitalizing on Climate
The World Bank is criticized as a major climate polluter that uses its role in climate finance to maintain developed country control over developing nations. Despite its rhetoric, the Bank continues to fund carbon-intensive projects, such as a $3.75 billion coal plant loan to South Africa, and promotes flawed carbon offsetting and forest conservation schemes. The report contrasts the World Bank's donor-controlled Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) with the more equitable, grant-based UNFCCC Adaptation Fund, calling for a transition to a Global Climate Fund accountable to the Conference of Parties.
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Document type: Report
Looking beyond the Doha Round
The policy brief examines the systemic failures of the WTO's negotiating process, highlighting how the 'single-undertaking' principle and consensus-based decision-making have led to paralysis. It argues that the diverse interests of 153 members—ranging from developed nations seeking new regulatory areas to poor countries struggling with existing obligations—make universal consensus increasingly unworkable. The author suggests that 'critical mass' plurilateral agreements, as outlined in the Warwick Report, offer a viable middle ground to maintain the multilateral system while allowing flexible progress for subsets of members.
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Document type: Policy brief
Climate Change and Global Governance
The author contends that climate governance has been overly dominated by environment departments and a narrow community of specialists, leading to top-down targets in the Kyoto Protocol that lacked domestic feasibility. To succeed post-2012, the author proposes a shift toward sector-specific expert forums involving industry and government, a more flexible approach to binding targets to encourage major emitters like the U.S., and a tighter integration of climate mitigation with poverty alleviation and sustainable development in the Global South. The paper emphasizes that developed nations must demonstrate domestic leadership and leverage trade and investment flows, rather than relying solely on official development assistance, to engage developing countries in a comprehensive mitigation regime.
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Document type: Research paper
Bajo el Lema de Integración Regional y Alivio de la Pobreza: El Banco Europeo de Inversiones y su relación con IIRSA
The document analyzes the role of the European Investment Bank (EIB) within the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA). It argues that IIRSA's focus on transport, energy, and telecommunications infrastructure poses significant risks to biodiversity and indigenous communities. The report claims the EIB's involvement, formalized through a 2004 memorandum with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), primarily benefits European corporations rather than local populations. It highlights a lack of environmental and social standards and criticizes the EIB for withholding project information. The report concludes that the alliance, supported by the European Parliament, promotes a developmentalist model that exacerbates social inequality and environmental degradation in Latin America.
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Document type: Report
El Mundo de Kafka : La Política de Información del Banco Europeo de Inversiones
The document criticizes the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a lack of transparency in its project financing, specifically regarding the timing and detail of information disclosure. While the EIB adopted a new Transparency Policy on June 15, 2004, NGOs argue that the bank continues to prioritize commercial confidentiality over the public's right to know, often releasing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) only after project approval. The text contrasts the EIB's restrictive approach with the more open standards of the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and outlines specific demands for the EIB to publish project documentation 120 days before Council decisions.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Le monde de Kafka : la politique de la Banque européenne d’investissement en matière d’information
The document criticizes the European Investment Bank (EIB) for its restrictive information policies, which often prioritize commercial confidentiality over public access to project details. While noting a 2004 transparency declaration, the authors argue that critical documents like Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are frequently unavailable before loan approval, preventing effective public consultation. The text contrasts the EIB's practices unfavorably with those of the World Bank and EBRD and outlines specific NGO demands for systemic transparency reforms.
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Document type: Fact sheet
La Banque européenne d’investissement et l’environnement
The document examines the European Investment Bank's (EIB) environmental framework, specifically its 2002 and 2004 Environmental Statements. While the EIB claims to prioritize environmental protection and align with EU standards, NGOs argue that the Bank continues to fund fossil fuel extraction and aviation projects that contradict climate goals. The text details the EIB's internal environmental units and its targets for renewable energy and CO2 reduction, while listing specific reforms demanded by civil society to increase transparency and accountability.
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Document type: Fact sheet
The Inspection Panel: Accountability and Participation at the World Bank
The World Bank Inspection Panel (WBIP) is described as an effective mechanism for ensuring that World Bank policies are implemented and that marginalized groups affected by projects are heard. While it has served as a model for other regional development banks and export credit agencies, the document identifies several critical challenges. These include the need for monitoring and follow-up after investigations, the Bank's perceived immunity from human rights norms, the weakening of safeguard policies, the shift toward sectoral and structural adjustment loans, and a tendency to shift accountability from the Bank to borrower countries.
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Document type: Statement
Gambling with People’s Lives
The report critiques the World Bank's renewed focus on high-risk/high-reward projects in extractive industries, forestry, and large dams. It argues that the Bank's history is marked by 'institutional amnesia,' where past failures—such as mass displacement and environmental devastation—are ignored in favor of an 'approval culture' that overstates benefits and understates costs. The authors highlight specific cases like the Sardar Sarovar Dam in India and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline to demonstrate how the poor and the environment bear the risks while private investors reap the rewards. The report recommends a shift toward low-risk, community-driven development and the establishment of reparations for past damages.
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Document type: Report
Title of paper goes here
The document examines the challenges of reducing subsidies under WTO rules, specifically the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) and the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). It argues that the WTO's reliance on 'multi-unilateral' implementation and a dispute settlement system based on proving 'adverse effects' limits the effectiveness of subsidy reduction. The author highlights a disconnect between economic analysis of harmful subsidies and the legal definitions used in WTO texts, which often mirror U.S. law. The paper concludes that the WTO's institutional framework, rooted in the principle of comparative advantage, fails to account for the distributive consequences of its agreements, particularly for developing countries and the environment.
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Document type: Research paper
El papel que juega el Banco Europeo de Inversiones en el desarrollo
The EIB is a central financial institution for EU relations with developing countries, particularly those in the ACP region. While it operates under the Cotonou Agreement, the document argues that the EIB prioritizes economic and technical evaluations over sustainable development and poverty eradication. The report highlights significant gaps in public information and project evaluation, noting that many venture capital operations lack public scrutiny. It recommends that the EIB adopt international standards like the Millennium Development Goals, implement mandatory public consultations, and establish an independent inspection mechanism for affected communities.
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Document type: Fact sheet
El Banco Europeo de Inversiones y el medio ambiente
The document examines the EIB's environmental framework, highlighting contradictions where the bank claims to support EU climate goals while continuing to fund fossil fuels and aviation. It details the EIB's 2002 and 2004 environmental statements, its internal organizational structure for environmental assessment, and a series of reform demands from NGOs to increase transparency and accountability.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Taking the Doha Language Seriously: The WTO as if Sustainable Development Really Mattered
The author argues that achieving sustainable development within the WTO requires moving beyond narrow commercial objectives toward integrated impact assessments and institutional reforms. Key recommendations include enhancing national-level capacity for environmental and development assessments, transforming the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) into 'watchdog' bodies, and increasing public participation and transparency in both negotiations and dispute settlements.
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Document type: Research paper
Recommendations for the Implementation of OVE’s Evaluation of MICI from Civil Society Organizations
Civil society organizations argue that the IDB must move beyond 'half-measures' to ensure the MICI is an effective accountability mechanism. Key demands include repealing the requirement for complainants to first engage with Bank Management, removing the 'legal exclusion' that prevents MICI from reviewing cases with ongoing national court proceedings, and granting MICI the authority to launch investigations without Board approval. The authors highlight a systemic failure to provide remedy for harmed communities, citing a case in Colombia where noise pollution from El Dorado International Airport caused health issues despite MICI findings of noncompliance. They further urge the Bank to replace MICI's reliance on short-term consultants with permanent staff to preserve institutional memory and reduce case processing delays.
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Document type: Statement
The World Bank's New Inspection Panel: Will It Increase the Bank's Accountability?
The World Bank established an independent inspection panel on September 21, 1993, allowing affected parties in borrower territories to request investigations into the Bank's failure to follow its own operational policies. The panel's creation followed severe criticism of the Bank's environmental and social record, highlighted by the Morse Commission's review of the Sardar Sarovar project and the leaked Wapenhans report, which found that 78 percent of financial conditions in loan agreements were not fully enforced. While the authors view the panel as a significant advancement in international law, they argue that its independence is compromised because members are nominated by the Bank President and approved by Executive Directors. Furthermore, the panel's public accountability is limited as reports are withheld from the public until after the Executive Directors have considered them. The authors suggest that the panel's ultimate success depends on the diligence of NGOs in filing complaints and monitoring the process, noting that U.S. Congress funding for the International Development Association (IDA) is implicitly linked to the panel's performance.
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Document type: Research paper