For over
half a century, the World Bank Group has used taxpayer dollars
to fund development projects around the world. Too
often the Bank's investments come at the expense of the environment
and fail to help the poor. Friends
of the Earth is working to make the world's largest development
institution greener, more open, and more accountable to the
public.
IFC provides
loans directly to corporations, and also invests in private
sector projects. Foe is calling on the IFC to stop financing
companies with poor environmental and social records until
they change their practices and to ensure that its investments
are environmentally and socially sound, demonstrate a positive
developmental impact beyond just economic growth and are beneficial
to the poor and the most marginalized.
MIGA provides
political risk insurance to the private sector to invest in
developing countries. Flying below the radar screen, this
publicly funded institution quietly supports environmentally
damaging, developmentally risky projects around the world.
MIGA supports some of the world's largest and richest corporations,
wasting taxpayer money on corporate welfare.
FoE
is campaigning to ensure that the hundreds of millions of
taxpayer dollars that are provided to the World Bank through
IDA "replenishment" do not fund more failure at
the institution. Reforms to cancel poor country debt, improve
transparency, achieve positive health and education outcomes,
ensure respect for core worker and gender rights, and protect
the environment can deliver positive change to the lives of
hundreds of millions of people in poor countries.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn agreed to commission an “Extractive Industries Review” September 2000, in response to international pressure from Friends of the Earth and others. Bank-financed fossil fuel and mining projects have been plagued by significant environmental and social problems and fail to alleviate poverty. The final, groundbreaking EIR report released November 2003, reflects many of the recommendations Friends of the Earth has advocated and could significantly change the course of future World Bank lending in the oil, gas and mining sectors.
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