Freedumb Friday! World Bank Enjoys Freedom To Ignore Own Guidelines, Will Back 2 Gig Coal Plant
World Bank Group units are aiding the development of a new coal-fired power plant in Indonesia, despite a new bank policy discouraging support for coal projects, according to a report from the environmental group Oil Change International released on Wednesday. The World Bank issued an Energy Directions paper in July, saying that coal projects should only receive support in “rare cases” when there is "no feasible alternative."
The International Finance Corp., the private sector arm of the World Bank, is serving as the transaction adviser for a 2,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Indonesia known as the Central Java Power Project. As the transaction adviser, the IFC described its role as "helping ensure that the bidding was conducted according to international best practices and that the project met international environmental and social standards."
In addition, the World Bank in 2010 provided a $30 million loan to the Indonesia Infrastructure Guarantee Fund, created by the government of Indonesia to obtain financing for the power plant as well as railways to transport coal and transmission lines. The project is to be built and operated as a joint venture between Andaro Power of Indonesia and two Japanese companies.
Oil Change International said the IFC and the World Bank Group are enabling one of the largest coal-fired power plants in southeast Asia.
EDIT
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/world-bank-coal_n_3986125.html