AIDA Follows the Money to Combat Climate Change

AIDA is at the forefront of an unprecedented opportunity to reshape how energy is produced in the Americas. Partly due to climate change concerns, three of the largest international banks in the Americas are redesigning their energy investment strategies.

 

These international financial institutions, or IFIs, have significant influence on the types of large infrastructure and energy development projects that occur throughout the hemisphere. Currently, many IFIs fund projects that accelerate climate change, such as large dams that emit methane gas, mines that disturb key “carbon sinks,” and power plants that use inefficient and highly contaminating coal and oil-based technologies.  IFI funding, for example, is behind Colombia’s huge La Colosa gold mine project, which could carve canyons out of the high-altitude paramos, releasing tremendous quantities of trapped carbon dioxide.

 

AIDA is participating in consultation processes held by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank Group (WBG), and its member institution, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).  We are pressing these IFIs to prioritize development of clean and sustainable energy sources.  In redesigning their policies, we specifically urge these international institutions to:

 

-          Consider climate change and human rights at every step of the process;

-          Incorporate the strictest international standards for human rights, social equity, energy efficiency, and natural resource planning into all decision-making processes;

-          Set aggressive yet achievable emission reduction targets for the total carbon emitted by projects in their portfolios

-          Prioritize energy efficiency and renewable energy sources while discouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels.