New Report: At least $132 billion in finance for fossil fuels is locking Africa out of a Just Transition

MARCH 3, 2022BY OCI TEAMFEATURED, PRESS RELEASES

March 3, 2022

Contacts:
Bronwen Tucker, bronwen@priceofoil.org
Henrieke Butijn, henrieke@banktrack.org

At least $132 billion in finance for fossil fuels is locking Africa out of a Just Transition
Overseas fossil profiteers crowding out a renewable and just future on the continent

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s new report, published on Monday February 28, once again confirms that the climate crisis disproportionately affects African countries. It further demonstrates that climate impacts will worsen sooner than previously predicted and that worldwide action is more urgent than previously assessed. And yet Africa is host to a growing number of oil, gas and coal projects. New research published today by BankTrack, Milieudefensie, Oil Change International and 19 African partners (1), including 350Africa, Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities (AERC) from Ghana, and WEP Nigeria, reveals the billions of dollars in finance, the majority from European, Asian and North American financial institutions, that are putting the continent in danger of becoming locked into fossil fuels, despite its massive potential for renewable energy. As a result, Africa runs the risk of not being able to make the necessary leap to sustainable energy in time.

Billions of overseas fossil fuel money

Between 2016, following the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement, and June 2021, public and private financial institutions poured at least $132 billion in lending and underwriting into 964 gas, oil and coal projects in West, East, Central and Southern Africa. The vast majority of this finance came from financial institutions based outside Africa, both commercial banks and public finance institutions like development banks and export credit agencies.

• The majority of the largest fossil fuel financiers are from North America and Europe, in particular from the United States, the United Kingdom and France. JPMorgan Chase, Standard Chartered, and Barclays are all in the top 5.
• A staggering 28% of fossil fuel finance in the period ($37 billion) flowed from public finance institutions. Government backing and preferential rates mean this finance has an outsized impact on private financial flows, pushing forward fossil fuel projects and crowding out renewable alternatives.
• Financial institutions based in North America, Europe and Australia together provided $73 billion in financial support, 55% of the total. Asia-based financial institutions, mostly from China and Japan, provided $42 billion of the total amount, which equals 32%. In contrast, Africa-based financial institutions provided just $15 billion, or 11% of the finance.

The development myth

The fossil fuel industry as well as financiers often claim that fossil fuel projects contribute to Africa’s economic and social development, however the evidence of the projects highlighted in this study, including Mozambique LNG and Offshore Cape Three Points in Ghana, indicate that this is a myth. Despite the many fossil fuel developments, Africa remains the continent with most people living in energy poverty. Poor contract terms, debt traps, and disproportionate ownership by foreign multinationals means the industry mainly serves the interests of companies and nations outside of Africa, with African people and African governments bearing the risks. Instead of bringing development, fossil fuel projects often have severe impacts on local communities and the environment. New fossil fuel projects also risk locking countries into fossil fuel dependency. Stranded assets combined with growing national debt and government deficits, could generate a dangerous ripple effect leading to massive unemployment and rising poverty, locking countries into a vicious cycle of poverty for decades to come.

Risks for the financial sector

For financial institutions, providing financial support to oil, gas and coal projects is also increasingly becoming a risk. With the energy transition accelerating and the production costs of renewable energy rapidly dropping compared to fossils, these projects are increasingly at risk of ending up as stranded assets. Meanwhile, climate change litigation around the world is forcing companies to reduce their emissions output. And the risk of reputational damage has been heightened in recent years by the lack of transparency, corruption, illicit financial flows and serious environmental and human rights violations that characterize this sector in Africa. Further, a failure to limit global warming will present a systemic threat to the whole global financial system.

A Just Transition for Africa

The African partners of this report, as well as recent publications by African networks and civil society organizations, emphasize that the injustices that have plagued the African continent for so long will persist without a Just Transition approach to renewable energy – an approach rooted in environmental, social, political, economic and gender justice. As such, the report puts forward eight Principles for a transformative Just Transition approach to renewables.

In a Just Transition there is eventually no room for fossil fuels. Public and private financial institutions must immediately stop financial support for new oil, gas and coal projects and phase out the existing support for fossil fuels. Instead, finance should be redirected to renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy. A Just Transition furthermore requires a shift of ownership of these renewable energy sources from large multinationals to African communities.

National and international legislation

Such a major turnaround requires strict legislation from governments worldwide on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence to make sure the mistakes of the fossil fuel era will not be repeated, giving African countries the prospect of a green, resilient and sustainable future.

Landry Ninteretse, 350Africa.org Regional Director: “Africans are experiencing severe climate impacts driven by high emissions from the biggest polluters in the developed world. Wealthy countries of Europe, North America, East Asia and Australia, historically big emitters, have not only the responsibility to fund the Just Transition and energy transition plans that African countries are committing to implement, but also to halt any new investments in the fossil fuel industry. It’s time for governments and financial institutions to starve fossil fuels and redirect funding towards this transition to sustainable, clean energy, instead of locking African nations into fossil fuel dependency.”

Bronwen Tucker, Public Finance Campaign Co-Manager at Oil Change International: “The resources and profits from fossil fuel projects in Africa have overwhelmingly flowed out of the continent rather than providing energy access or public goods. Now, wealthy countries are locking in a risky and unequal future on the continent by continuing to finance four times as much fossil fuels as renewables with their public finance institutions. These governments must get out of the way of a just transition in Africa by ending their fossil fuel finance and dramatically scaling up their climate finance and debt cancellation instead.”

Henrieke Butijn, Climate campaigner and researcher at BankTrack and lead author of the report:“Commercial banks like JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered can make all the Net-Zero pledges they want but these pledges will not automatically lead to the much-needed short-term steps in ending fossil fuel financing and much less to a true Just Transition. Banks need to start thinking beyond fossil fuel divestment and renewable energy as the new business-as-usual opportunity and focus on what truly benefits African countries and communities now and in the long-term.”

Isabelle Geuskens, Senior Program Officer Just Transition at Milieudefensie and lead author of the report: Africa is the continent with the most renewable energy potential. But it has not been able to tap into it and build towards the more resilient and sustainable future it urgently needs, given the many climate challenges it is and will be facing. Meanwhile our financial institutions and industries continue fuelling the fossil fuel development myth and pour billions of dollars into new fossil fuel projects, locking the continent into fossil fuel dependency and a stranded future. A Just Transition for Africa means stopping fossil fuel finance and contributing to a renewable energy future that benefits African people first and foremost.

Anabela Lemos, Director JA! Justiça Ambiental/FoE Mozambique: “Mozambique and its people are in the tragic situation of being devastated by both the causes and effects of the climate change crisis. One of the major causes of the climate crisis is the extractive industry, and right now the gas rush in Mozambique is causing land grabs, destroyed livelihoods, human rights abuses, militarization and conflict. At the same time, Mozambique is one of the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change, with increasing floods, cyclones and droughts that have already killed, displaced and affected hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable and poorest people. We must break this cycle of injustice and inhumanity, by stopping the gas projects in Mozambique and around the world.”

Aly Marie Sagne, Director and founder of Lumière Synergie pour le Développement (LSD): “Africa is experiencing the severe impacts of the climate crisis while at the same time, African leaders like Senegalese President Sall are championing a false solution about “an energy transition taking into account oil and gas investments”. In the meantime, the African Development Bank, the major Development Finance Institution of the continent, is navigating between green and dirty energy financing options. LSD believes that each degree of additional CO2 emission counts and a just energy transition in Africa should therefore be moving away from fossil fuels. LSD is pushing the AfDB to increase the proportion of renewable energy projects in its portfolio to 70% by 2025!”

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Notes:

• The full list of African civil society partners is: 350Africa.org, AFIEGO from Uganda, Africa Coal Network, Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme (ACEDH) from the DRC, Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities (AERC) from Ghana, Centre for Alternative Development from Zimbabwe, Environment Governance Institute (EGI) from Uganda, Friends of the Earth Ghana, Friends of the Earth Togo, Innovation for the Development and Protection of the Environment (IDPE) from the DRC, Justiça Ambiental!/Friends of the Earth Mozambique, Laudato Si’ Movement, Lumière Synergie pour le Développement (LSD) from Senegal, Save Okavango (SOUL), Solidarité pour la Réflexion et Appui au Développement Communautaire (SORADEC) from the DRC, Synergie de Jeunes pour le Développement et les Droits Humains (SJDDH) from the DRC, Women Environmental Programme Nigeria, WoMin and Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA).
• This report builds on many of the findings in The Sky’s Limit Africa, which assessed fossil fuel industry plans to sink USD $230 billion into the development of new extraction projects in Africa in the next decade — and USD $1.4 trillion by 2050. It found these projects are not compatible with a safe climate future and that they are at risk of becoming stranded assets that leave behind unfunded clean-up, shortfalls of government revenue, and overnight job losses.

Visite du Président de la Banque Africaine de Développement à Dakar – Entre Indifférence et Mépris à l’égard des Organisations de la Société Civile et des Communautés affectées par les projets de la BAD !

Dakar, le 31 janvier 2022,

Aly Marie Sagne, Directeur et Fondateur de LSD, Sénégal

Le Président du Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Développement a séjourné au Sénégal du 26 au 28 janvier 2022^[1].

Comme l’indique le communiqué de presse de l’institution publié le 25 janvier 2022, « la visite intervient dans le sillage de la mise en service du Train Express Régional en décembre dernier, et pour lequel la Banque Africaine de Développement a apporté une contribution de 120 milliards de francs CFA. »

En outre, « le déplacement du Président de la banque lui permettra de visiter des projets financés par l’institution et de promouvoir l’entrepreneuriat des jeunes et des femmes. »

Poignée de main entre Dr Adesidna et Pdt Sall à Dakar (Crédit Photo- BAD)                          

Signature de conventions de financement  avec le Ministre des Finances (Crédit Photo- BAD)

Dès que nous avons eu l’information, nous avons souhaité la bienvenue à Monsieur Adesina comme il est de coutume au Pays de la Teranga dans un message et lui avons recommandé de laissé un espace pour les Organisations de la Société Civile et les communautés affectées par leurs projets, notamment les victimes du Train Express  Régional.

Comme à ses habitudes, celui qui, dès son élection à la tête de la BAD en 2015 avait vanté le rôle et la mission des OSC^[2] nous a répondu par une indifférence total.

Un agenda exclusivement pour les officiels et acteurs étatiques 

Malheureusement, en bon showman, M. Adesina est vite allé chercher le buzz. 

Ainsi, le Président de la BAD a rencontré les Ministre des Finances, le Ministre du Budget, il a visité la Délégation de l’Entreprenariat Rapide (DER) où il s’est donné un bon bain de foule avec le personnel et quelques bénéficiaires de projets soigneusement sélectionnés, voyagé avec le tout nouveau  Train Express Régional (TER) et rendu visite à l’Institut Pasteur de Dakar à qui il a promis une enveloppe.

Photo de groupe du Dr Adesidna avec les responsables de la DER à Dakar (Crédit Photo- BAD)

Un petit clin d’œil au secteur privé

En dehors des acteurs non étatique, Adesina a rencontré le secteur privé^[3]  et discuté de son souhait de le voir participer plus aux projets de la BAD où elle ne représente que 10%. 

Mépris à l’égard des organisations de la société civile et des communautés 

Dans mon message à Adesina, je lui avais pourtant rappelé son discours de Lusaka (même si celui-ci répondait à une circonstance) et j’avais terminé mes propos en lui disant que : « Pour LSD, le Développement sans les Communautés n’est pas du Développement ! »

Malheureusement, Adesina ne nous surprend pas ! A l’image de la plupart des fonctionnaires de la BAD le mot « Participation » n’a pas de sens dans leur vocabulaire, ils l’utilisent que pour sauver leur image et pensent en réalité que la Société Civile ne connait que la critique et la dénonciation. Et lorsque le mot « Participation » apparaît dans leurs documents, ne faite surtout pas attention car, ça n’a peut-être pas la même signification que pour vous ! 

Soutien à la plainte des communautés hôtes du projet TER à la BAD

En soutien à la plainte qui est en cours depuis 2 ans, LSD et le Collectif National des Personnes Affectées par le Projets TER ont tenu un point de presse ce jeudi 27 janvier 2022, pour rappeler à la BAD sa responsabilité sur le désastre économique et social que le projet Train Express Régionaltant vanté par l’institution continentale leur a causé durant ces 4 malheureuses années.

Point de presse conjoint LSD et le Collectif National des Personnes Affectées par le Projets TER à Dakar (Crédit Photo- LSD)

Par expérience, lorsqu’il s’agit de la Société Civile, le seul langage que connaît la BAD c’est la confrontation, et LSD s’est leur parler ce langage ! 

Ainsi, lors de ce point de presse, les 2 entités requérantes (devant le mécanismes de plainte) ont partager encore une fois avec la presse, le lourd bilan social et le drame économique et social causé par le projet, en violation des propres politiques de la Banque Africaine de Développement.

En effet, M. Ibrahima Cissé, Coordonnateur National du Collectif a demandé à Adesina de réhabiliter les populations impactées. Quant à Mme Fatou Dione, la Coordonnatrice des impactés de la région de Dakar, elle a solennellement demandé au Président Adesina de venir demander pardon aux impactés, comme l’a d’ailleurs fait le Président SALL lors du lancement du TER le 27 décembre 2021 à Dakar.

Adesina a entendu le message des impactés … répond la mort dans l’âme

Malgré le relaie de nos messages par la presse dakaroise, Adesina est resté sourd, indifférent, méprisant… Mais, le samedi 29 janvier 2022, alors qu’il se dirigeait tranquillement vers l’Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Mme Fatou Dione, la Coordonnatrice des impactés de la région de Dakar accompagné d’une poignée d’impactés s’est interposée devant son cortège juste à l’entrée de l’Institut Pasteur,  avec une banderole et brassard rouge. Munie d’une copie d’un chèque de 25 000 FCFA que l’APIX avait donné à un chef de famille à titre d’indemnisation, Fatou Dione criait à vive et haute voix : Monsieur Adesina, « le Train Express Régional nous a tué, nous réclamons une bonne exécution du Plan de Réinstallation, nous voulons le démarrage de la vérification de conformité… »

M. Adesina n’avait plus le choix. Interpelé par les journalistes qui ont assisté à cette scène, il était obligé de répondre sur le processus d’indemnisation. Malheureusement de façon maladroite et partisane, car Adesina donnait l’impression que la responsabilité était du côté du gouvernement du Sénégal qu’il dit « louer les efforts car ayant beaucoup fait ». Cependant, M Adesina oubli que le premier et principal responsable, c’est la Banque Africaine de Développement qui a failli à faire respecter ses propres politiques sociales et environnementales qui lui recommandent « d’indemniser de façon juste et préalable ».

D’autre part, cette question n’était plus entre ses main, c’est le Mécanisme Indépendant de Recours et le Conseil d’Administration de la banque qui s’en charge maintenant. Et LSD surveille ces derniers et veillera à ce que la Banque Africaine de Développement vide ce contentieux avec Mme Fatou Dione et ses pairs avant de prétendre s’engager dans le financement de la 2^nd phase du TER ! 

Mme Fatou Dione a été inquiétée par la police lors de cette manifestation improvisée, du seul fait qu’elle défend ses droits !

Dans l’attente de la 2^ième phase de la plainte sur le TER, Lumière Synergie pour le Développementmanifeste toute sa solidarité à Mme Fatou Dione, et à tous les impactés du TER.

LSD continuera à défendre les personnes affectées par les projets de développement partout en Afrique et où cela sera nécessaire.

AMS

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^[1] https://www.afdb.org/fr/news-and-events/press-releases/le-president-de-la-banque-africaine-de-developpement-sera-en-visite-officielle-au-senegal-48634

^[2] Voir discours de Adesina au Forum des OSC -Assemblées Annuelles de la BAD en Zambie.

^[3] https://www.afdb.org/fr/news-and-events/senegal-le-president-de-la-banque-africaine-de-developpement-echange-avec-le-secteur-prive-et-les-partenaires-techniques-et-financiers-48794

Implantation d’une sidérurgie turque : Bargny vent debout contre Tosyali

 21 septembre 2020

https://www.lequotidien.sn/implantation-dune-siderurgie-turque-bargny-vent-debout-contre-tosyali/

Après le combat contre l’érection de la centrale à charbon, Bargny est sur un nouveau front avec l’implantation annoncée de l’usine de sidérurgie Tosyali. Aucune occasion n’est alors de trop pour se faire entendre et samedi la tonalité de la protestation était bien au rendez-vous. C’était en fait l’ouverture d’Assises pour se pencher sur les questions de propreté et de gestion du cadre de vie sur trois jours mais, certains habitants étaient eux debout. Debout pour dire non de manière catégorique au projet de l’entreprise turque Tosyali autorisée par l’Etat à ériger sa sidérurgie non loin de la centrale à charbon. Ses habitants dont certains en rouge, pour exprimer le degré de leur exaspération, ont attendu l’arrivée du ministre Abdou Karim Fofana à la rencontre pour sortir de nulle part avec des pancartes estampillées «Non à Tosyali» et des slogans assez musclés à l’endroit des autorités. Une confusion totale durant quelques minutes à l’entrée du complexe culturel El Hadj Ndiouga Dieng ayant abrité la rencontre et puis l’entrée du ministre du Cadre de vie et sa délégation. Les contestataires laissés à eux-mêmes à l’entrée ont continué pendant quelques minutes à se défouler pacifiquement comme pour dire que le combat venait juste de démarrer. A l’intérieur il était question de propreté et de cadre de vie et l’implantation de la sidérurgie ne pouvait ne pas s’inviter aux débats. Et là, le maire de la commune Abou Ahmet Seck a ramé dans le même sens que ses administrés protestataires dans un langage très diplomatique. «On parle toujours de cadre de vie et nous avons ici pas mal d’industries. Nous avons la Sococim et des projets qui sont annoncés (…) Nous pensons qu’il y a moyen de faire un bilan performance et trouver un autre site plus adapté pour accueillir ce projet sidérurgique qui est dans l’intérêt du Sénégal», a estimé l’édile de Bargny. «Seules les villes qui auront un cachet environnemental fort pourront tirer leur épingle du jeu», a-t-il projeté dans sa lancée. Cela dit, M. Seck a énuméré les importantes réalisations de la commune en termes de relogement des habitants impactés par l’érosion côtière tout en appelant le ministre en charge du Logement à un engagement pour la poursuite de ce programme communal. «Nous comptons sur l’Etat pour reloger les familles qui n’ont pas encore eu la chance de trouver un toit pour sortir ces populations des affres de l’érosion côtière», a-t-il exhorté. Le ministre de l’Urba­nisme, du logement et du cadre de vie s’est félicité de la tenue des assises sur la propreté et le cadre de vie tout en promettant son accompagnement à la commune qui, selon lui, devrait être imitée dans la gestion du cadre de vie par les actions d’envergure réalisées par l’équipe municipale.

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PLAINTE CONTRE TOSYALI HOLDING

Vendredi 28 août 2020 –

PLAINTE CONTRE TOSYALI HOLDING POUR

 NON RESPECT DES PRINCIPES DIRECTEURS DE L’OCDE

Lumière Synergie pour le Développement (LSD) et l’Association des femmes transformatrices de poissons^[1] de Bargny Guedj ‘’Khecom’’ viennent de déposer une plainte auprès du Point de Contact National turc (PCN) contre l’entreprise Tosyali Holding Senegal, qui tente de s’accaparer du site de transformation des femmes pour y construire un complexe minier sidérurgique.

Tosyali n’a pas consulté la communauté et n’a pas exercé une diligence raisonnable en matière de droits de l’hommepour évaluer les risques que vont engendrés ses opérations, spécifiquement sur les femmes transformatrices de poissons^[2]. Tout ceci en violation des Principes Directeurs de l’OCDE à l’intention des Entreprises Multinationales, notamment en ces chapitres II (Principes Généraux), IV (Droits de l’homme) et, VI (Environnement).

Dans cette plainte, les plaignants (LSD et les femmes transformatrices de poissons) sollicitent les bons offices du PCN pour contraindre Tosyali Holding Sénégal à se conformer aux Principes Directeurs de l’OCDE, arrêter immédiatement ses activités sur le site Khelcom et engager le dialogue avec les femmes.

Les Principes Directeurs constituent des normes sociales et environnementales reconnues au niveau mondial, des recommandations en matière de Responsabilité Sociale des Entreprises (RSE) adoptées en 2000 et qui s’adressent aux multinationales opérant à partir ou en dehors des pays adhérants de l’OCDE^[3], 

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^[1] Pour rappel, plus de 1 500 femmes luttent depuis 10 années pour défendre leur droit au consentement libre, leur droit au travail, leur droit à disposer de leurs moyens de subsistances et leur droit à un environnement sain, face au projet de centyrale à charbon de 125 MW ‘’Sendou’’.

^[2] En outre, Tosyali n’a pas présenté un plan de réinstallation et aucune Etude d’impact environnementale et sociale n’a été réalisée.

[3] OCDE : Organisation de Cooperation et de Développement Economique

Lancement rapport : « L’argent d’outre-mer maintient les pays africains dans le carcan des combustibles fossiles »

Jeudi 03 mars 2022

Au moins 132 milliards de dollars de financement dans les combustibles fossiles empêchent l’Afrique de bénéficier d’une transition juste, selon un nouveau rapport

3 mars 2022 – Le nouveau rapport du Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat, publié le lundi 28 février, confirme une fois de plus que la crise climatique touche de manière disproportionnée les pays africains. Il démontre en outre que les impacts climatiques s’aggraveront plus tôt que prévu et qu’agir au niveau mondial est plus important de que ce qui avait été évalué précédemment. Et pourtant, l’Afrique accueille un nombre croissant de projets pétroliers, gaziers et charbonniers. Une nouvelle étude publiée aujourd’hui par BankTrack, Milieudefensie, Oil Change International et 19 partenaires africains (1), dont 350Africa, Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities (AERC) du Ghana et WEP Nigeria, révèle les milliards de dollars de financement, provenant en majorité d’institutions financières européennes, asiatiques et nord-américaines, qui mettent le continent en danger de s’enfermer dans les combustibles fossiles, malgré son énorme potentiel d’énergie renouvelable. En conséquence, l’Afrique court le risque de ne pas être en mesure de faire le saut nécessaire vers l’énergie durable à temps.

Des milliards provenant des combustibles fossiles à l’étranger

Entre 2016 et juin 2021, suite à l’adoption de l’Accord de Paris sur le climat, les institutions financières publiques et privées ont versé au moins 132 milliards de dollars en prêts et souscriptions dans 964 projets de gaz, de pétrole et de charbon en Afrique occidentale, orientale, centrale et australe. La grande majorité de ces financements proviennent d’institutions financières basées hors d’Afrique, qu’il s’agisse de banques commerciales ou d’institutions publiques telles que les banques de développement et les agences de crédit à l’exportation.

• Sur les 15 premières institutions financières à l’origine de cette somme, 10 sont des banques commerciales et cinq des institutions financières publiques.
              
• La majorité des plus grands financiers des combustibles fossiles sont originaires d’Amérique du Nord et d’Europe, en particulier des États-Unis, du Royaume-Uni et de la France. JPMorgan Chase, Standard Chartered et Barclays figurent tous dans le top 5 des établissements finançant les combustibles fossiles.     

•         
              
• La Banque de développement de la Chine est le principal bailleur de fonds des projets et des entreprises de combustibles fossiles en Afrique au cours de cette période.

Les banques basées en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Australie ont fourni ensemble un soutien financier de 73 milliards de dollars, soit 55 % du total versé. Les institutions financières basées en Asie, principalement en Chine et au Japon, ont fourni 42 milliards de dollars du montant total, soit 32 %. En revanche, les institutions financières basées en Afrique n’ont fourni que 15 milliards de dollars, soit 11 % du financement.

Le mythe du développement

L’industrie des combustibles fossiles ainsi que ses principaux financiers prétendent souvent que les projets de combustibles fossiles contribuent au développement économique et social de l’Afrique. Cependant, les projets mis en avant dans l’étude, notamment Mozambique LNG et Offshore Cape Three Points au Ghana, indiquent que c’est un mythe. Malgré les nombreux développements en matière de combustibles fossiles, l’Afrique reste le continent où la plupart des gens vivent dans la pauvreté énergétique. Les mauvaises conditions contractuelles, les pièges de la dette et la propriété disproportionnée en faveur des multinationales étrangères signifient que l’industrie sert principalement les intérêts d’entreprises et de nations extérieures à l’Afrique. Cependant les risques restent supportés par les populations et les gouvernements africains. Au lieu d’apporter le développement, les projets de combustibles fossiles ont souvent de graves répercussions sur les communautés locales et l’environnement. Les nouveaux projets de combustibles fossiles risquent également d’enfermer les pays dans la dépendance aux combustibles fossiles. Les actifs échoués, combinés à l’augmentation de la dette nationale et des déficits gouvernementaux, pourraient générer un dangereux effet d’entraînement conduisant à un chômage massif et à une pauvreté croissante, enfermant les pays dans un cercle vicieux de pauvreté pour les décennies à venir.

Risques pour le secteur financier

Pour les institutions financières, apporter un soutien financier aux projets pétroliers, gaziers et charbonniers devient également de plus en plus risqué. Avec l’accélération de la transition énergétique et la baisse rapide des coûts de production des énergies renouvelables par rapport aux énergies fossiles, ces projets risquent de plus en plus de se retrouver en actifs échoués. Parallèlement, les litiges liés au changement climatique dans le monde entier obligent les entreprises à réduire leurs émissions. Le risque d’atteinte à la réputation a été accentué ces dernières années par le manque de transparence, la corruption, les flux financiers illicites et les graves violations de l’environnement et des droits de l’homme qui caractérisent ce secteur en Afrique. En outre, si l’on ne parvient pas à limiter le réchauffement de la planète, cela représentera une menace systémique pour l’ensemble du système financier mondial.

Une transition juste pour l’Afrique

Les partenaires africains de ce rapport, ainsi que les récentes publications de réseaux africains et d’organisations de la société civile, soulignent que les injustices qui frappent le continent africain depuis si longtemps persisteront sans une approche de transition juste en matière d’énergies renouvelables – une approche ancrée dans la justice environnementale, sociale, politique, économique et de genre. À ce titre, le rapport propose huit principes pour une approche de transition juste et transformatrice des énergies renouvelables.

Dans une transition juste, il n’y a finalement pas de place pour les combustibles fossiles. Les institutions financières publiques et privées doivent immédiatement cesser de soutenir financièrement les nouveaux projets pétroliers, gaziers et charbonniers et supprimer progressivement le soutien existant aux combustibles fossiles. Les financements doivent être réorientés vers des sources d’énergie renouvelables, telles que l’énergie solaire et éolienne. Une transition juste exige en outre que la propriété des sources provenant d’énergies renouvelables soit transférée des grandes multinationales aux communautés africaines.

Législation nationale et internationale

Un tel revirement nécessite une législation stricte de la part des gouvernements du monde entier en matière de droits de l’homme et de diligence raisonnable en matière d’environnement, afin de s’assurer que les erreurs de l’ère des combustibles fossiles ne seront pas répétées, offrant ainsi aux pays africains la perspective d’un avenir vert, résilient et durable.

Landry Ninteretse, directeur régional de 350Africa.org : « Les Africains subissent de graves impacts climatiques dus aux fortes émissions des plus gros pollueurs du monde développé. Les pays riches d’Europe, d’Amérique du Nord, d’Asie de l’Est et d’Australie, historiquement de gros émetteurs, ont non seulement la responsabilité de financer les plans de transition juste et de transition énergétique que les pays africains s’engagent à mettre en œuvre, mais aussi de stopper tout nouvel investissement dans l’industrie des combustibles fossiles. Il est temps que les gouvernements et les institutions financières arrête les combustibles fossiles et réorientent les financements vers cette transition vers des énergies durables et propres, au lieu d’enfermer les nations africaines dans la dépendance aux combustibles fossiles. »

Henrieke Butijn, Climate campaigner and researcher à BankTrack et autrice principale du rapport :« Les banques commerciales comme JPMorgan Chase et Standard Chartered peuvent faire tous les engagements Net-Zero qu’ils souhaitent, ces engagements ne mèneront pas automatiquement aux étapes à court terme nécessaires pour mettre fin au financement des combustibles fossiles et encore moins à une véritable transition juste. Les banques doivent arrêter de se concentrer uniquement sur le désinvestissement des combustibles fossiles et sur le virage vers les énergies renouvelables, comme une simple opportunité de poursuivre leurs activités comme si de rien n’était, mais devraient plutôt se concentrer sur ce qui profite vraiment les pays et les communautés africaines, maintenant et à long terme. »

Isabelle Geuskens, Senior Program Officer Just Transition chez Milieudefensie et auteur principal du rapport : L’Afrique est le continent qui possède le plus grand potentiel en matière d’énergies renouvelables. Cependant, le continent n’a pas été en mesure de l’exploiter et de construire un avenir plus résilient et durable dont elle a besoin de toute urgence, compte tenu des nombreux défis climatiques auxquels elle est et sera confrontée. Pendant ce temps, nos institutions financières et nos industries continuent d’alimenter le mythe du développement des combustibles fossiles et versent des milliards de dollars dans de nouveaux projets de d’énergies fossiles, enfermant le continent dans la dépendance aux combustibles fossiles et dans un avenir sans perspective. Une transition juste pour l’Afrique signifie l’arrêt du financement des combustibles fossiles et la contribution à un avenir d’énergies renouvelables qui profitent d’abord et avant tout aux populations africaines.

Anabela Lemos, directrice de JA ! Justiça Ambiental/FoE Mozambique : « Le Mozambique et sa population se trouvent dans la situation tragique d’être dévastés à la fois par les causes et les effets de la crise du changement climatique. L’une des principales causes de la crise climatique est l’industrie extractive et, à l’heure actuelle, la ruée vers le gaz au Mozambique entraîne l’accaparement de terres, la destruction de moyens de subsistance, des violations des droits de l’homme, une militarisation et de nombreux conflits. Dans le même temps, le Mozambique est l’un des pays les plus touchés par les effets du changement climatique, avec une augmentation des inondations, des cyclones et des sécheresses qui ont déjà tué, déplacé et affecté des centaines de milliers de personnes parmi les plus vulnérables et les plus pauvres. Nous devons briser ce cycle d’injustice et d’inhumanité, en arrêtant les projets gaziers au Mozambique et dans le monde entier. »

Aly Marie Sagne, Directeur & Fondateur de Lumière Synergie pour le Développement (LSD) :« L’Afrique subit les graves impacts de la crise climatique alors qu’au même moment, les dirigeants africains, comme le président sénégalais Sall prônent de fausses solutions sur « une transition énergétique prenant en compte les investissements pétroliers et gaziers ». Pendant ce temps, la Banque africaine de développement, la principale institution de financement du développement du continent, navigue entre les options de financement d’énergies vertes et d’autres sales. LSD estime que chaque degré d’émission supplémentaire de CO2 compte et qu’une transition énergétique juste en Afrique devrait donc s’éloigner des combustibles fossiles. LSD pousse la BAD à augmenter à 70% la proportion de projets d’énergie renouvelable dans son portefeuille d’ici 2025 ! »

Bronwen Tucker, Public Finance Campaign Co-Manager at Oil Change International : « Les ressources et les bénéfices des projets d’énergie fossile en Afrique ont, dans une large mesure, quitté le continent au lieu de fournir un accès à l’énergie ou des biens publics. Aujourd’hui, les pays riches s’engagent dans un avenir risqué et inégal sur le continent en continuant à financer quatre fois plus de combustibles fossiles que d’énergies renouvelables avec leurs institutions financières publiques. Ces gouvernements doivent cesser de faire obstacle à une transition juste en Afrique en mettant fin à leur financement des combustibles fossiles et en augmentant considérablement leur financement du climat et l’annulation de la dette. »

Note aux rédacteurs

1. Les partenaires africains sont : 350Africa.org, AFIEGO de l’Ouganda, Africa Coal Network, Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme (ACEDH) de la RDC, Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities (AERC) du Ghana, Centre for Alternative Development du Zimbabwe, Environment Governance Institute (EGI) de l’Ouganda, Friends of the Earth Ghana, Friends of the Earth Togo, Innovation for the Development and Protection of the Environment (IDPE) de la RDC, Justiça Ambiental !/Les Amis de la Terre Mozambique, Mouvement Laudato Si’, Lumière Synergie pour le Développement (LSD) du Sénégal, Save Okavango (SOUL), Solidarité pour la Réflexion et Appui au Développement Communautaire (SORADEC) de la RDC, Synergie de Jeunes pour le Développement et les Droits Humains (SJDDH) de la RDC, Women Environmental Programme Nigeria, WoMin et Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA).

Contact:

Pour plus d’informations, prière de contacter :

M. Aly Marie Sagne, 

Président de LSD, Téléphone : +221 77 6417074 / Email : a.sagne@lsdsenegal.org

Henrieke Butijn, Climate campaigner and researcher à BankTrack: henrieke@banktrack.org, +31 649229622. Basée aux Pays-Bas.

Lynda Belaïdi, presse chez Milieudefensie (Amis de la Terre Pays-Bas) : +31 6 386 14 206. Basé aux Pays-Bas.

2020 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group: Final Communiqué

WE, the Governors, representing Member Countries of the African Development Bank and State Participants of the African Development Fund (the “Bank Group”), convened virtually for the 2020 Annual Meetings from 26th to 27th August 2020 chaired by Her Excellency Mme NIALÉ KABA, Minister of Planning and Development for Côte d’Ivoire and Chairperson of the Boards of Governors: 

1.    Take note of the enormous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including severe disruptions to the development trajectories of our Regional Member Countries (RMCs). In this connection, we commend the Bank Group for the adoption of the COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility (CRF) to provide a flexible range of exceptional support to lessen the severe economic and social impact of the pandemic on our RMCs. We call for the effective implementation of the CRF in accordance with the Bank’s financial sustainability framework, to achieve its laudable objectives and the adaptation of the Bank Group’s interventions to address the medium to long-term challenges occasioned by the persistence of the pandemic. We also commend the Boards of Directors, Senior Management and Staff for the temporary measures adopted towards ensuring the continuity of Bank Group operations despite the disruptions;

2.    Welcome the Bank Group’s sustained attention to ensure the continued financial strength of the institution by updating its financial sustainability framework, and encourage further steps to establish buffers, manage lending levels, and adopt automatic actions to protect capital adequacy thresholds and ratios during the pandemic;

3.    Given the highly uncertain outlook related to the pandemic, we call on the Bank Group to continue implementing its programmes with particular attention to addressing the financial and operational risks that may arise, in order to safeguard its ability to deliver on its development mandate in the most effective manner;

4.    Note the statements made at the Governors’ Dialogue, in reference to the far-reaching reform programme undertaken by the Bank Group within the framework of the Seventh General Capital Increase (GCI-VII) and the Fifteenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-15). While we commend the steps taken to date to implement the reform programme, we urge the Bank Group to redouble efforts to fully and timely deliver on the various commitments, with a view to sharpening its strategic focus, enhancing its efficiency and effectiveness while ensuring financial sustainability, strengthening its capacity to deliver results and at scale, and positioning it to achieve impact as a trusted development partner on the continent. We exhort the Boards of Directors, President, Senior Management and Staff to work constructively and proactively on the implementation of this programme;

5.    Acknowledge the continued relevance of the High 5 priority areas with an emphasis on selectivity to help bridge the infrastructure finance gap in areas where the Bank Group has comparative advantages such as transport, telecommunications, agriculture, energy and digital economy. We recognise the critical role of quality healthcare infrastructure for the African continent. In this regard, the Bank should further articulate how to develop its role in this area, taking into account other development partners’ areas of expertise and its internal capacity;

6.    Call on the Bank Group to strengthen its internal governance, compliance, control and accountability functions to align with best practices of peer institutions. In this connection and in a spirit of unity and collaboration, we authorize the establishment of an ad-hoc Committee of the Board of Governors to oversee a review of the Bank’s ethics and complaints handling governing framework. This review will consider and update the Whistle Blowing and Complaints Handling Policy, the Code of Conduct for Elected Officers, the Terms of Reference for the Ethics Committee, and any other relevant rules to strengthen governance of the Bank Group, ensure the highest levels of accountability, credibility, integrity and promote transparency and independence. We agreed to reconvene on this matter during the next Annual Meetings to assess the findings and recommendations of the review;

7.    Encourage the Bank Group to reinforce its focus on its areas of comparative advantage relative to other multilateral development banks, within the global development landscape while exploring areas of synergies and coordinate in other areas with other development partners for accelerating the implementation of its High 5 priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa as well as the objectives of the African Union Agenda 2063. To this end, we urge the Bank Group to deepen its collaboration with the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to fast-track Africa’s integration and economic and social transformation particularly in view of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which has the potential to increase growth, enhance competitiveness, improve the business climate, as well as ensure greater investment and development of regional and continental global value chains;

8.    Encourage the Bank Group to step up its support to RMCs to enhance capacity in quality infrastructure development, domestic resource mobilization, quality job creation, support for women and youth empowerment, public financial management, debt management and transparency, private sector development, combating corruption, stemming the tide of illicit finance, addressing the challenges associated with climate change, the adoption of approaches that ensure energy security, expand access to affordable and reliable energy services and stimulate low-carbon development in line with national climate-related action plans, such as, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and a sustained focus on aligning its investments with the principles set out in international climate agreements, including principally the Paris Agreement, based on the joint MDB framework adopted at COP24 and the continued use of renewable energy towards achieving inclusive economic growth;

9.    Encourage sustained investments in the private sector in RMCs. In this regard, we call on the Bank Group to increase the focus of its support to sectorial policy and regulatory reforms with the aim of fostering a business-friendly environment; and leveraging significant new investment commitments for projects in Africa, including through the Africa Investment Forum;

10.    Call on the Bank Group to strengthen its effectiveness to respond to the unique needs of RMCs that may be in fragile and conflict situations as well as small, middle income and island states, including advocating for and incentivizing prudent macroeconomic policy frameworks, and providing sound advice on debt sustainability in coordination with the IMF and World Bank. We also encourage the Bank Group to identify ways to support the G20 initiative on the suspension of debt servicing obligations for low income countries and to deploy more human resources to States in fragile situations; 

11.    Call for increased capacity and resources to strengthen implementation of the Bank Group’s social and environmental safeguards, for updating the Integrated Safeguards System, and for continued improvements in the accountability mechanism so that aggrieved parties have a voice and can seek redress;

12.    Encourage a stronger commitment to gender equality in Bank Group operations in order to enhance human progress and structural transformation in RMCs. In this regard, we commend the Bank Group for the partnerships it is forging to increase women’s economic empowerment and access to finance, including through the Affirmative Finance Facility for Women in Africa (AFAWA) to be implemented in the next few months;

13.    Call on the Bank Group to increase efforts towards facilitating more and better opportunities for the youth to help stem migration from the continent. Accordingly, invite the Bank to better integrate the impact on employment, especially on young people, as a selection criterion for operations financed by the Bank;

14.    Commend the Boards of Directors, Management and staff of the Bank Group for the operational and financial performance in 2019 and welcome the unqualified opinion of the Bank Group’s external auditors on the financial statements ending 31 December 2019 and their confirmation of the effectiveness of the internal controls of the Bank Group;

15.    We re-elected Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as President of the Bank Group for the next five years commencing 1 September 2020. We congratulate him on his re-election, commit to support him and wish him success in driving the work of the Bank Group;

16.    Look forward to the next Annual Meetings scheduled for 24 to 28 May 2021, in Accra, Ghana.

Source: https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/2020-annual-meetings-african-development-bank-group-final-communique-37562?fbclid=IwAR3CGE_MQAQvAZiaqKQn75fEOB3j9SeBoC3ox_jDruOX-mAUdDxGIrAfPGM

SUCCESSES AND WEAKNESSES IN THE CASE OF THE SENDOU COAL POWER PLANT

ACTION MATTERS

SIX SUCCESS STORIES OF STRUGGLES FOR COMMONS IN AFRICA

COMPLAINT FILING AT INTERNATIONAL

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS BY ALY SAGNE

SUCCESSES AND WEAKNESSES IN THE CASE OF THE SENDOU COAL POWER PLANT

Please find this article at : http://rosalux.sn/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Materialien33_Action_Matters_web-1.pdf

On 25 November 2009, the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a EUR 55 million loan to Nykomb Synergetics Development AB, a Swedish company, for the construction of a 125-megawatt coal-fired power plant named Sendou in the municipality of Bargny, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and 30 kilometers outside of Dakar, the Senegalese capital. It consists of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) under the “build, own, operate” (BOO) model, lasting for 25 years and with the coal to be sourced from South Africa.
Based on our research on the AfDB’s operations, Lumière Synergie Développement (LSD), a founding member of the Coalition of African Civil Society Organizations and a locally-based environmental association, found in 2010 that the project did not comply with the bank’s social and environmental safe- guards policies.1 In fact, the project started without adequate consultation with the local community. It was planned to use an area for the power plant which had been promised to the victims of coastal erosion, however the 1,433 plots of land were expropriated without compensation. In addition, more than 1,000 people, mostly women working in fish processing plants and seasonal workers, were put at risk of losing their workplace and means of livelihood. This was because a safe distance between the power plant and the ovens used to smoke fish could not be maintained as the power plant was too close by. The project would also entail enormous risks to the environment and the health of communities, and it was not in compliance with the Senegalese environmental code (Article L13).2

Yet, like the AfDB, the other two development banks, The West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Dutch Development Bank Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) have environ- mental and social safeguards policies, whose ultimate goal is to avoid as much as possible any adverse effects, or to minimize social and environmental impacts. Therefor

Fisher women working around the power plant station in Bargny

Press conference with Takkom Jerry members in 2016

e, in partnership with Takkom Jerry, LSD decided to engage with international financial institutions (IFIs), using their expertise on Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAM).
On 9 May 2016, LSD and Takkom Jerry filed a joint complaint at the Independent Review Mechanisms (IRM) of the African Development Bank, the Dutch Public Development Bank, and the West African Development Bank’s Independent Complaint Mechanisms, for the non-compliance3 of the Sendou project with their respective environmental and social safeguards policies. Safeguards policies are a set of standards established by multilateral development banks to prevent and/or avoid that their investments and operations harm the environment or human rights. On the other hand, complaint mechanisms such as the AfDB’s IRM are intended to “make avail- able to all those who have suffered damage as a result of a project financed by the Bank Group, an independent mechanism through which they can request the Bank Group to act in accordance with its rules and procedures.”4

Grievances Brought to the Attention of Banks
In the complaint, LSD raised the shortcomings of the project in violation of the banks’ social and environmental safeguards which these three banks should address, in particular:

• Inadequate community consultation;
• Lack of compensation for land;
• No resettlement of women working in fish drying facilities;
• Violation of Article L13 of the Environmental Code (as this included a buffer zone of 500 meters to the next residential area, which has not been kept);
• Risk of air pollution, marine ecosystem pollution, and threats to fishing;
• Threat to cultural heritage (one sacred Baobab tree is situated in the power plant enclosure and is thus not accessible for the population, while other sacred trees were felled);
• Failure to address the cumulative impacts of the planned coal power plant and the cement factory SOCOCIM that is close by in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Three Years of Advocacy and Lobbying
A complaint cannot solve everything. Thus LSD combined it with other national and international advocacy and lobbying strategies, supported by an unprecedented media campaign with various tools, as well as the use of social media.5 The LSD complaint reached the AfDB 15 days before its Annual Meetings where the main theme was “Energy and Climate Change”, so the timing was a great opportunity for advocacy.6 Besides, LSD seized every opportunity to put pressure on the banks involved, through bilateral meetings with Sendou project managers, expert panels and/or influential members of the AfDB Board of Directors. The most decisive lobbying meetings were held at the US Treasury Department in Washington D.C., which represents the United States at the AfDB. LSD also went to the respective headquarters of the AfDB and FMO in Abidjan and the Hague. Here, the support of LSD partners Both Ends and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), two Dutch NGOs based in Amsterdam, was very decisive for our pressure on FMO. Since the banks care about their image, the naming and shaming strategy obviously succeeded.
On 20 September 2016, four months after the complaint, a big meeting was convened in Bargny by the Prefecture of Rufisque, the department in which the community is located. It was attended by the Mayor of Bargny, the Director of the Environment and Classified Establishments Department (DEEC), the Head of Major Projects at Senegal’s electricity company SENELEC, the Administrator (and his staff) of the other big electricity company in Senegal (CES), all the municipality councillors of Minam
and Bargny, the imams and resource persons of the village, and finally representatives of NGOs and associations (including fisherwomen groups, Takkom Jerry, and the Collective of the Affected Community). The Mayor stated that
the objective of this meeting was twofold: to provide a space for dialogue between the representatives of the community and the project developers, and to adopt a community position that would allow the Municipal Council to take the right decision on the project.7 Therefore, the promoters (CES/SENELEC) recognized for the first time the legitimacy of the community’s struggle since the start of the campaign against Sendou, and proposed the following mitigation measures which the Mayor presented the same day:

• An investment of 400 million West African CFA Francs (XOF) (around EUR 600,000) by CES during the construction phase, including 30 million for social initiatives, 12 million for education, 11 million for the youth, compensation for land amounting to XOF 450,000 per plot, 50 million for the modernization of the fish processing site, organization of exchange trips to Morocco or South Africa, etc.
• Finally, the setting-up of a local monitoring committee with the participation of all com- munity representatives.

Investigations

Between 23 and 26 November 2016, expert panels of all the banks—FMO, AfDB, and BOAD—investigated the case in Bargny.8 The trip, taking place six months after the complaint had been filed, was a first visit to the community. This field visit mission was accelerated thanks to LSD’s lobbying of the FMO expert panel in Amsterdam and the US Treasury Department (through the US representative on the AfDB Board) in Washington D.C., both in October 2016.

All three financial institutions, BOAD, FMO, and AfDB, issued corrective action plans as recommendations to the banks’ managements.

The support and advisory role of NGOs have been extremely important in the process: the identification of requesters or community representatives, the clarification of their complaints, the planning and facilitation of field visits, the preparation of a list of stakeholders to be met in Senegal, etc.9 As a consequence of the investigations, the bank experts took advantage to improve their understanding of the community’s grievances which were raised in the complaints, including the impacts on the environment, on fisheries, on women working in fish processing sites, and finally the land disputes. In addition to meeting with all project stakeholders in Senegal, the panel experts also met with the project’s technical advisor, as well as Quantum Power, the major shareholder in London.

The Tripartite Protocol

On the national level, the pressure was such that the promoters (CES and SENELEC) were in a rush to sign a tripartite memorandum of understanding with the Bargny Municipality10 to address the issues raised in the complaint, which were no more than a synthesis of the mitigation measures set by CES in its new 2017 January action plan laid out as follows:

– Community engagement: CES hired a com- munity officer alongside a new community engagement plan;

– Land: SENELEC increased the compensation package up to XOF 1 billion (around EUR 1.5 million);

– Tax revenue: CES committed to paying approximately EUR 80 million in property tax to the municipality of Bargny for a period of 25 years, representing the project’s duration;

• Khelcom fish processing site: CES proposed to modernize the site for about EUR 45,000, and to provide a revolving loan of XOF 30 million for women (around EUR 46,000);
• Hot water discharge: environmental considerations were integrated into the cooling water intake and outlet systems (closed cycle rather than direct discharge into the sea) so as to minimize the plant’s impact on the local marine environment and fishing activities. The outlet system was revised to meet the World Bank guidelines for the temperature of the water discharged;
• Air pollution: the project was redefined to minimize air pollution by implementing some technical mechanisms such as a more efficient burner;
• Implementation of the protocol: finally, a local committee was created to follow up on the implementation of the protocol.

Second Victory for the Community over Donors

After the Tripartite Protocol in March, a second victory was achieved when the board of governors of the AfDB authorized a thorough investigation of the project.11 In April 2017, the AfDB board of governors authorized experts of the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) to conduct additional investigations to clarify the issues raised in the complaints filed by local communities affected by the project. Thus, the AfDB stated that the problems should be addressed before the plant could start operating at the end of 2017. In June 2017, as a consequence, the Collective of the Affected Community filed a second complaint.

An outcome not only of this decision was that all three financial institutions, BOAD, FMO, and AfDB, closed the Sendou case on 16 November 2017, 12 June 2018, and 31 January 2019 respectively, and issued corrective action plans as recommendations to the banks’ managements.

In its final report of 2017,12 the FMO Independent Complaints Mechanism concluded that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) conducted in 2009 was not fully compliant with the requirements of several performance standards (PS) of the International Financial Corporation (IFC). These are international benchmarks for identifying and managing environmental and social risk and have been adopted by many organizations.

as a key component of their environmental and social risk management. However, PS 1 (2006)—Environmental Assessment and Management Systems—was not fulfilled. The panel acknowledged the real risk of cumulative effects for Sendou II, the community next to Bargny where, according to plans, a new bulk port should be built, which would result in the “thermal pollution” of the sea by the release of hot water.

The panel came to the further conclusion that problems related to possible damage to the community, such as the availability of drinking water, were never considered in the various ESIAs, and as a result the project did not comply with this element of the IFC PS 4 (2012) on Community Health, Safety and Security.

The panel believes that as a lender, FMO should have taken steps to ensure that the project had established procedures and actions to minimize economic displacement, mitigate negative impacts, and provide compensation to any person whose economic rights were affected by the project, regard- less of the number of people affected. Also, it confirmed insufficient consultation and communication had taken place with affected communities regarding cultural heritage, and that the threshold requirement for adequate consultation under the IFC PS 8 was not met. FMO thus suggested an action plan which included an independent advisor to ensure transparent management of SENELEC’s compensation funds. Furthermore, the Senegalese government should issue a decree to safeguard the continued presence of women at the Khelcom site and CES was called to formulate a community engagement action plan in accordance with IFC standards. Finally, FMO committed to participating directly in monitoring Sendou’s environmental performance and ensuring the project’s compliance with IFC standards.

The BOAD has a nascent accountability mechanism, and as such, it aligned its procedure with that of the AfDB. It undertook an environmental and social audit of the coal-fired power plant, which resulted in an action plan summarized as follows:13 It was recommended that the Senegalese government formulate a resettlement plan in collaboration with SENELEC and CES for the relocation of persons affected by coastal erosion whose plots of land have been lost because of the plant.

Independent complaint mechanisms of development banks, backed by a good strategy, provide access to decision-makers and influence national/public institutions and investors.

The complaint was an eye opener for local authorities and investors. It was also an important source of knowledge and learning for local communities.

Anyone whose economic rights have been affected by the project, for example the fisherwomen, should be provided compensation by the promoters. Furthermore, the promoters are called to produce annual air and water quality monitoring reports. Also, the new mineral port of Bargny and SOCOCIM should be included in the analysis of the cumulative impacts of Sendou I and the data in the project’s ESIA should be updated, particularly when related to the environmental aspects of the project, the demographic data of the host area (including the Khelcom fish processing site), and the donors’ recommendations.

The AfDB is the leading player in this project. Its report came rather late and recommended the following: CES should resettle the 115 households and affected persons to Bargny Ville Verte, and that this be financed jointly by SENELEC, the municipality, and CES.

CES was asked to take up again the periodic monitoring committee meetings in order to speed up the process of reaching consensus. A wastewater management system in the Minam and Bargny municipalities, and the construction of a school in Bargny Ville Verte were further recommended. The AfDB supported CES’s project to build a modern fish drying and smoking platform. Addition- ally, the AfDB recommended the removal of the ash deposit and requested CES to seek a permit for temporary storage of ash at DEEC and supported its project to create a factory to manufacture bricks made out of ash. It also recommended an update of the Environmental and Social Management Plan during the operating period: an inventory of air quality and air emissions monitoring, a sampling of all 11 receptors for 12 months, and the setting up of a permanent monitoring station in Minam. To address marine impacts, the AfDB requested that CES conduct a baseline study of marine resources as part of project monitoring, and to take samples of marine, surface and groundwater for the monitoring of physical and biological factors. Finally, to avoid the risks of inadequate water supply on the public network, it recommended the construction of a desalination plant worth EUR 3 million.

Lessons Learned from Engagement with International Financial Institutions

In our view, it is always beneficial for a community to use the independent complaint mechanisms of development banks. If the process is backed by a good strategy, it provides access to decision-makers and influences national/ public institutions and investors. It is also an important source of knowledge and learning for local communities.

In the case of Sendou, the complaint was an eye opener for local authorities and investors: there were several fact-finding missions undertaken by the banks to the project site, and many interactions and discussions took place at the highest level of the three banks (i.e. the boards of directors) and within the Government of Senegal.14

In addition, the project promoters drafted a new Corrective Action Plan with the imple- mentation of actions oriented towards women (EUR 27 million to support women’s activities, budget support to conduct consultation with local community and budget support for the municipality, etc.), while SENELEC offered EUR 1.5 million to settle the land conflict. However, these kinds of processes can be complicated, time-consuming, and costly. It took us four years to complete the case and produce mitigation measures and action plans.

Moreover, the community’s demands might not be fully addressed, especially if their expectations are higher or outside of the mandates of the independent complaint mechanisms. This could then lead to a loss of trust in IFIs’ accountability mechanisms.

This is exactly what happened on 10 March 2019, when during a workshop meant to evaluate the banks’ compliance review reports, Bargny’s representatives rejected all the banks’ action plans and asked for the project to be stopped.

As of February 2020, Sendou is in its 3rd sus- pension. Because of technical and financial problems, the plant has ceased operations since July 2019 and a dispute is in process between the two major shareholders, Nykomb Synergetics AB and Quantum Power in London.
In any case, from the perspectives of the banks, Sendou is classified as a “high risk project” which is actually handled by a focal point whose mission is to advise the banks on how to make a decision going forward.15 However, from our experience, no investor who cares about its image would like to invest in Sendou, which is facing such a bad reputation both nationally and internationally. So, for us—activists, NGOs, and the local community—Sendou is over!

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1 Lumière Synergie Développement (LSD) (2014): Empiéter sur les droits des communautés, polluer demain, September 2014. A summary can be found in: Aly Sagne (2014): Sénégal-BAD. Bargny face à 2 Centrales Electriques à charbon, The Voice of Communities Affected by business activities, 25 October 2014, available at https:// alysagne.wordpress.com/2014/10/25/bargny-face-a-2-centrales- electriques-a-charbon/. Last accessed: 06 April 2020.

2 Government of Senegal (2001): Loi no. 2001-01 du 15 Janvier 2001 portant code de l’environnement, available at https://www.sec.gouv.sn/sites/ default/files/loisetdecrets/Loi%20n%C2%B0%202001-01%20 du%2012%20avril%202001%20portant%20code%20de%20 l%27environnement.pdf. Last accessed: 27 March 2020.

3 The objective of the compliance audit is to verify whether bank policies or procedures have been violated and whether, as a result, harm has been caused to the affected parties.

4 African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (2015): The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM). Operating Rules and Procedures, revised 16 April 2015, available at https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/document/revised-irm-oper- ating-rules-and-procedures-2015-52239. Last accessed: 27 March 2020.

5 See for example this Lumière Synergie Développement post on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/yx2gcbnt. Last accessed: 12 March 2020. 6 In 2016, the Annual Meetings were held in Lusaka, Zambia. Every year, they are attended by over 2500 delegations from the AfDB and all stakeholders from around the world, including CSOs.

7 Letter of invitation received from the Mayor, see Aly Sagne (2016): Centrale à charbon. La CES reliance les pourparlers avec la communauté – Bargny dit toujours NIET, The Voice of Communities Affected by business activities, 20 September 2016, available at https://alysagne. wordpress.com/2016/09/20/centrale-a-charbon-la-ces-relance-les- pourparlers-avec-la-communaute-bargny-dit-toujours-niet/. Last accessed: 6 April 2020.

8 The independent mechanisms are made up of the banks’ internal staff and independent experts (usually academics). They are independent of the banks’ management and report directly to the Board of Governors, hence their “independent” status vis-à-vis the bank. 9 During their stay in Senegal, the panels met with all relevant stakeholders: affected communities, local authorities, the Prefect of Rufisque, the Director General of SENELEC, the project promoter, former politicians, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the Mayor of Bargny, the Ministry of Energy, the World Bank, the Dutch Embassy, and local consultants.

10 The Minister of Energy and the Director General of SENELEC personally attended the signing of this protocol at the Bargny Municipal Council.

11 Jennifer Patterson (2017): Sénégal: La BAD va réétudier les doléances que soulève la central au charbon de Sendou, AfDB, 20 April 2017, available at https://www.afdb.org/fr/ news-and-events/african-development-bank-to-further-examine-so- cial-and-environmental-concerns-on-sendou-coal-fired-power-plant- in-senegal-16990. Last accessed: 12 March 2020.

12 Maartje van Putten, Michael Windfuhr, and Stephen Gibbons (2017): FMO Inde- pendent Complaints Mechanism. Panel Report No. 2. Sendou I Coal Power Plant. Bargny, Senegal, 12 October 2017, available at https:// http://www.fmo.nl/l/library/download/urn:uuid:90559906-40f1-4178- 83a5-75e4d1a5e8b3/compliance+review+report+sendou_english. pdf. Last accessed: 12 March 2020.

13 AfDB (2019): Plan d’action concernant le rapport de revue de conformité du projet de la centrale à charbon de Sendou réponse de la Direction, January 2019, avail- able at https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/ Compliance-Review/Sendou-Coal_Fired_Power_Plant_Compli- ance_Review_Report_FR.pdf. Last accessed: 12 March 2020.

14 The Prime Minister of Senegal even made a public statement on the project on 25 May 2018: Energie. Transition au gaz annoncé pour 2021 par le Pm. Bargny refuse des années de pollution au charbon, Le Quotidien, 28 May 2018, available at https://www.lequotidien.sn/ energie-transition-au-gaz-annoncee-pour-2021-par-le-pm-bargny-re- fuse-des-annees-de-pollution-au-charbon/. Last accessed: 12 March 2020.

15 All options are considered by the banks (including the banks’ withdrawal from the project). But the AfDB and FMO are looking for a new investor to restart the project, while saying that in that case, they will ensure the full compliance of the project with social and environment safeguards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Independent Review Mechanism hosts a virtual outreach with civil society organizations

17-Jun-2020

The Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (BCRM), the Secretariat of the Bank’s Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), organized an information webinar for civil society organizations (CSOs) on “Handling Complaints from People Affected by Projects Financed by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)” on Wednesday, 10 June 2020. 

The session brought together 61 participants from civil society organizations representing 8 countries in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal); 3 in Southern  Africa (South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini); two Central African countries (Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo); two  East African countries (Kenya and Uganda); 3  North African countries (Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia); and the United States of America and 5  European countries (Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands).

The participants became acquainted with the IRM through the presentations delivered focusing on the IRM mandate, roles, and procedures for handling complaints through problem-solving and compliance review.

Following the presentations, a panel of three  Representatives of CSOs shared their experiences with the IRM in handling of cases, and also informed the participants how they conduct outreach activities with affected communities. Finally, BCRM updated the participants on the ongoing third review of the IRM. BCRM encouraged the participants to submit their views and comments once the draft report is published in the Bank website for public consultation in coming months. The session provided an opportunity for participants to discuss and highlight the challenges and impacts of the IRM work on communities affected by projects financed by the AfDB and in helping the Bank achieve its sustainable development objectives.

The webinar was organized in partnership with three (3) CSOs: Accountability Counsel in the USA, Lumiere Synergie pour le Developpement (LSD) in Senegal and the Centre pour le Developpement de la Region de Tensift (CDRT in Morocco with the support of the Bank’s Civil Society and Community Engagement Division.

https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/independent-review-mechanism-hosts-virtual-outreach-civil-society-organizations-36248

African Development Bank joins Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network

17-Jun-2020

Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) on Wednesday announced the inclusion of the African Development Bank, one of the world’s  largest issuers of social bonds, in the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network (NSBN). The NSBN is a global and publicly available platform designed to improve transparency in the market for green, social and sustainability bonds.

Ten Bank bonds were added to the platform, including its landmark $3 billion Fight COVID-19 Social Bond launched in March 2020, the largest Social Bond ever launched at the time in international capital markets. Fight COVID-19 remains today the largest dollar-denominated Social Bond.  It aims to help alleviate the economic and social impact of the pandemic on livelihoods and Africa’s economies.

By joining the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network, socially responsible issuers are provided a unique opportunity to bring attention to their concrete actions in terms of financing climate change and green growth.

“Nasdaq welcomes the inclusion of the African Development Bank on our Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network especially with its Fight Covid-19 Social Bond, launched to alleviate the impact of the pandemic on African economies and livelihoods,” said Ann-Charlotte Eliasson, VP, Head of EU Bond Listings and Sustainable Debt.

“We are proud to offer visibility to an issuer with such a strong social mandate, which the world needs more than ever, especially in these challenging times.”

Since the launch of Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network(link is external) in December last year, more than 40 issuers from 13 countries have added over 4,000 bonds to the platform, including the Nordic Investment Bank, HSBC and Fannie Mae.

“The Nasdaq Sustainable Bond platform allows us to showcase our work in combating poverty and in helping move the African continent forward. Our Fight Covid-19 social bond is about saving lives and livelihoods,” said Hassatou Diop N’Sele, Treasurer of the African Development Bank.

The African Development Bank established its Social Bond framework in 2017 and has raised the equivalent of $5.5 billion through five transactions supporting 89 eligible social projects in 28 African countries as of 31 December 2019. In 2018, the Bank was designated “Second most impressive social or sustainability bond issuer” at the Global Capital SRI Awards and the Bank’s NOK 1 billion 3-year Social Bond issued in 2019 was awarded “Social Bond of the Year” by Environmental Finance.

https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/african-development-bank-joins-nasdaq-sustainable-bond-network-36229

Read Nasdaq press release on inclusion here(link is external)

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Assemblée générale de l’ONU : « Le charbon n’a plus sa place en Afrique, l’avenir est aux énergies renouvelables », affirme Akinwumi Adesina

NEW YORK, États-Unis d’Amérique, 26 septembre 2019/APO Group/ —

https://afdb.africa-newsroom.com/press/united-nations-general-assembly-unga-2019-no-room-for-coal-in-africas-renewable-future-akinwumi-adesina?lang=fr

Le président de la Banque africaine de développement, Akinwumi Adesina, a présenté, mardi à New-York, les efforts engagés pour fermer les centrales à charbon sur le continent et construire la « plus grande zone d’énergie solaire de la planète » dans la partie aride du Sahel.

« Le charbon n’a plus sa place en Afrique, il appartient au passé. L’avenir est aux énergies renouvelables. En ce qui nous concerne, à la Banque africaine de développement, nous sommes en train de nous débarrasser du charbon », a déclaré le président de la Banque aux quelque 200 délégués du Sommet Action Climat, lors de la 74^ème Assemblée générale de l’Organisation des Nations unies.

Akinwumi Adesina a annoncé le déploiement, en 2020, d’un plan de 500 millions de dollars américains mis en œuvre par la Banque pour la production d’énergie verte, qui devrait générer des investissements totaux de 5 milliards de dollars. Ce plan doit permettre aux pays d’Afrique de « passer du charbon et des combustibles fossiles aux énergies renouvelables », a-t-il affirmé.

« Nous devons lier le changement climatique à un nouveau modèle de développement, celui d’une mondialisation juste, avec moins de souffrances, plus de justice et une harmonie »

Il s’est également exprimé sur des projets d’investissements d’une valeur de 20 milliards de dollars dans le solaire et les énergies propres, offrant une capacité totale de 10 000 MW à destination des 250 millions d’habitants de la région. « Il y a une raison pour laquelle Dieu a donné la lumière du soleil à l’Afrique », a-t-il insisté.

Chefs d’État, princes et ministres du monde entier ont assisté au Sommet de l’ONU sur le climat alors qu’ils sont appelés désormais à réduire leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre et à contenir le réchauffement climatique sur la planète.

Le secrétaire général des Nations unies, Antonio Guterres, a pointé du doigt « l’industrie des combustibles fossiles, actuellement en voie de disparition », tout en déclarant qu’il n’était pas trop tard pour limiter la hausse des températures mondiales sous le seuil de référence de 1,5 degré Celsius.

« Cela nécessitera des transformations radicales dans tous les domaines d’activité de la société : dans la façon de cultiver les sols, d’utiliser les terres, d’alimenter en énergie nos moyens de transport et de faire fonctionner nos économies », a-t-il néanmoins reconnu. « Nous devons lier le changement climatique à un nouveau modèle de développement, celui d’une mondialisation juste, avec moins de souffrances, plus de justice et une harmonie entre les hommes et la planète. »

Le Sommet Action Climat 2019 avait pour objectif de concrétiser et d’accélérer les actions visant à mettre en œuvre l’Accord de Paris de 2015 sur le changement climatique et les Objectifs de développement durable d’ici à 2030. Selon le consensus des experts internationaux, l’humanité doit réduire ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre afin de limiter le réchauffement climatique à environ 1,5 degré Celsius.

 

Distribué par APO Group pour African Development Bank Group (AfDB).