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Opinion piece published by Reuters AlertNet

Opinion piece published in Thailand's The Nation

A Critique of the World Bank Paper, Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework

Prepared for the Development Committee Meeting

Introduction

At the Gleneagles G8 Summit held in July 2005, the World Bank was given a twin mandate. It was asked to propose a strategy that will facilitate a global transition to a climate–friendly, sustainable energy future, and that will support energy sector development for economic growth and poverty reduction. In response to this mandate, the World Bank just submitted a report, Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework, to the Development Committee. The Bank’s new paper espouses a business–as–usual approach and will not achieve the climate and development goals of the Gleneagles mandate.

World Bank support for Nam Theun 2 is justified only if the project will help to reduce poverty in Laos. Yet there are no guarantees that the revenue from Nam Theun 2 will be used for poverty alleviation, nor that the project’s significant impacts on local communities and on the environment can be successfully managed.

A Review of The World’s Banker, A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations by Sebastian Mallaby (Penguin Press, October 2004)

In The World’s Banker, Sebastian Mallaby presents an insightful account of the World Bank during the presidency of James Wolfensohn. The author loses his cool when he discusses the role of advocacy groups that campaign against Bank projects, substituting research with polemic and a substantive debate with catchy slogans.

Nam Theun 2 is a hydropower project in Lao PDR with a proposed capacity of 1,070 megawatts. The project is currently the largest and most controversial hydropower project in the pipeline of the World Bank.

On October 12, the World Bank’s executive board approved a $45 million loan from their private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), for a controversial hydropower project in the Indian Himalayas. The loan was approved despite the launching of an investigation into the project by the IFC’s ombudsman.

A Critique of the World Bank Paper, Issues in Using Country Systems in Bank Operations, August 23, 2004

 

Controversial Lao Dam Not Suitable for World Bank Support

The World Bank is poised to consider a controversial dam in Laos, despite the fact that the government’s capacity to manage the project’s massive economic, social, and environmental risks remains in question.