Green groups including WWF, 350.org and Bankwatch are delivering a petition with 16,661 signatures to the EBRD in Belgrade, Serbia on Wednesday. The coalition is calling on the EBRD to support increased investment in renewable energy and stop financing new fossil fuel schemes.
They are responding to a consultation on the EBRD’s draft energy strategy, which states it will continue “within a defined framework to support fossil fuel generation, recognising the essential role this has in meeting energy needs, as well as the significant scope for efficiency and environmental improvements”.
The green NGOs argue the EBRD should follow the example of the World Bank and European Investment Bank in imposing tight limits on lending to coal schemes.
According to Bankwatch calculations, fossil fuel lending made up 48 per cent of the EBRD’s lending between 2006 and 2011.
Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, EBRD Coordinator at Bankwatch, said: “Although the EBRD has a smaller portfolio than the WB and the EIB, this regional bank is the biggest public lender in its countries of operation, with a significant role to play in either entrenching fossil fuels in the region’s energy sector or alternatively leading the major shift to low-carbon economies.”
Tim Ratcliffe, European Campaigner at 350.org, warned the EBRD could get stuck with a portfolio of stranded assets if it persists in financing fossil fuel schemes. He said: “This year can and must constitute a turning point for global action against climate change. One of the biggest imperatives right now is to put an end to public support for fossil fuels.”
WWF head of climate and energy policy Jason Anderson urged the EBRD to start right away by abandoning projects such as lignite power plants Kolubara B in Serbia and Kosova e Re in Kosovo. “These projects will lock in polluting emissions for decades to come,” he said.