New proposed policy for Euler Hermes, the German government export credit agency, means Germany broke an international commitment to end public finance for international fossil fuel projects, which was supposed to be met by the end of 2022
Euler Hermes is a major global financier of fossil fuels, bigger than the prominent United States Export-Import Bank (EXIM) – and as of December 2022 was considering 10 large international fossil fuel projects worth EUR 1 billion, despite Germany’s major climate pledge
German international reputation is in danger as a growing group of countries meet the same international commitment Germany signed, including the UK, Canada, France, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and New Zealand
Latest undermining of Olaf Scholz’ climate authority after watering-down of G7 climate pledges last year and attempts to convince EU to open new gas fields
Policy undermines public finance shift to clean energy, prolonging fossil-fuelled energy crisis and undermining energy security
Today, July 4, German insurance association GDV’s insurance regulation conference takes place in Berlin. German and Brussels-based environmental NGOs Urgewald, ShareAction and Insure Our Future use the occasion to collectively call on the lobby organization, speakers and participants in the event to support much more robust climate protection measures.
Bob Pickard’s shock resignation last week is a political earthquake. The departure of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's (AIIB) chief communications officer, announced via Twitter, once again highlights Germany's failure to meet the set of criteria it demanded when it joined the AIIB for supervisory, including accountability and governance structures as well as compliance with human rights, environmental and social standards.
The Bank invests billions in fossil fuel projects, including through various opaque channels. Unless this changes, its soul-searching will count for little.
The moment has come: today Ajay Banga takes office as World Bank President. The U.S. nominated the top executive at the end of February following the surprise resignation of David Malpass. Since the founding of the Bretton Woods institutions, as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are known, it has been accepted that the U.S. appoints the head of the World Bank, while European countries pick the leader of the IMF. This undemocratic practice continues to this day. There was no opposing candidate – let alone a female opponent. Despite strong criticism from civil society, on May 3, the 25 World Bank Executive Directors from the 189 member countries, including Germany, cleared the way for Banga after he had spent the last months holding talks in many countries.
The environmental and human rights organization Urgewald together with 14 NGO partners published a comprehensive update of the AIIB-Watch. The website examines the projects of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (henceforth: “AIIB”) for human rights violations, forced resettlement and environmental damage. An interactive map lists a total of 24 cases where the AIIB is failing to meet key protection standards.