Environmental Justice | ECESR Publishes Correspondence with EBRD about Plans to Finance Egyptian Government’s Use of Coal

The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) a correspondence with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) concerning the use of coal in cement factories and energy plants in Egypt. The first letter was related to its proposed plans to finance the use of coal in cement factories, whose negotiations began in a meeting with Trade and Industry Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour and Hildegard Gacek, Managing Director, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED). The meeting discussed prospective funding of projects, specifically in the fields of energy and renewable energy.

The minister indicated that the meeting reviewed the possibility of funding coal-based projects to generate power for cement factories. The letter to the Bank’s administration was sent by Ms. Habiba Ramadan, Environmental Justice researcher at ECESR, on January 29, 2014. It was signed by several Egyptian and international organizations. The second letter is EBRD’s reply, which stated that, according to the Bank’s new policies on energy and renewable energy, the use of coal was rare. However the Bank does not consider that investment in coal for various industries, including cement, falls under this category. The Bank’s administration believed that coal is still “essential” for energy production in the cement industry.

CSOs 1st Letter to EBRD – Jan 29th 2014

EBRD Reply On Coal – Feb 24th 2014

CSOs 2nd Letter On Coal To EBRD – May 9th 2014

Corrected Memo attached to CSOs Letter to EBRD on Coal Projects in Egypt – May 9th 2014