The move to sustainable development and building a carbon-low economy needs funding. In this regard, a new direction in finance – green (sustainable) finance – has emerged. One of the green finance ...instruments is green bonds, first issued by supranational financial institutions. This paper aims to identify the features of green bond issues and implemented green projects by the World Bank (the WB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD). Data were obtained from databases and reports of the WB, the EBRD, and the Climate Bonds Initiative. Data analysis was provided using statistical methods, particularly descriptive and comparative statistics. A positive trend in the issue of green bonds in the volumes and timing of the WB and the EBRD was revealed, despite the shift in emphasis caused by COVID-19. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean transportation remain the primary directions of the WB, and the EBRD green projects amounted to more than 60% of total projects funding. The geography of green projects financed through the WB and the EBRD green bonds indicates that green projects are receiving significant funding from countries facing environmental challenges and demonstrating intent to green transition (the WB – China and India, the EBRD – Turkey, Poland, and Egypt). Supranational financial institutions were the first to come to the forefront of sustainable development funding and are now spearheading the creation of new financial instruments aimed at financing both green and social projects, leading to the emergence of sustainability bonds.
Acknowledgment(s)The authors would like to thank the participants of the 1st International Conference on Sustainable Development (SDL 2021) for providing the valuable remarks and a fruitful discussion. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the work of domestic and foreign scientists. The results were obtained due to the application of a system of methods: the method of logical ...analysis made it possible to develop the logic of the research; generalization and synthesis - to form a chronology of IMF cooperation with the domestic national economy; methods of structural and economic-statistical analysis were used to assess the current state of cooperation between the countries of the world and international financial organizations. The graphic method made it possible to visualize the obtained research results. The article is devoted to a detailed study of the role of international lending and the activities of international financial organizations in the countries of the world and Ukraine. An overview of the existing IMF lending mechanisms was carried out and the dynamics of the lending structure of the world's countries under these mechanisms was studied. It has been proven that the most used lending mechanism is the "Stand-by" loan mechanism (SBA), which is designed to help solve short-term balance of payment problems. An analytical review of the largest IMF borrowers of the geographic structure of the fund's financial support to the countries of the world was carried out. An in-depth analysis of financial flows to low- and middle-income countries in 2018-2022 led to the conclusion that the net inflow of debt for 2018-2022 grew by 9% annually, which increases the dependence of these countries on international financial organizations. Within the framework of Ukraine's cooperation with international financial organizations, the country's interaction with the IMF, the World Bank, and the EBRD was investigated. The authors created a chronology of the development of cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF. The assessment of the current state of cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF confirmed the intensity of these relations recently, both in terms of the number of loans granted and their volume. As a result of almost thirty years of cooperation, Ukraine received loans in the amount of 35 billion dollars. The result of Ukraine's cooperation with another largest creditor - the World Bank - was studied. During 28 years of cooperation, the World Bank offered Ukraine funds totaling more than 7.94 billion dollars. The purpose of granting loans by the World Bank and the EBRD is the sustainable and comprehensive recovery of the economy of Ukraine as a whole, and of certain industries in particular. The issue of cooperation with international financial organizations is especially relevant today in view of the limited financial resources and the gradual entry of our country into the stage of peak payments for foreign debt.
The article analyzes the state of Ukraine's cooperation with leading international financial organizations, paying special attention to such organizations as the International Monetary Fund, the ...European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. The article identifies the advantages and disadvantages of cooperation with the IMF. The investment and credit activity of IFRS in Ukraine is analyzed. The influence of IFRS on the economic development of the country has been studied. The features of Ukraine's cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are revealed. The most relevant joint projects of the World Bank and the Government of Ukraine are given. The subject of the study is theoretical and practical issues related to the role of international financial organizations in financing the state development of the country. The purpose of the article is to open to identify the impact of international financial and credit institutions on financing the social development of Ukraine. research methods. The work uses a combination of general scientific and specific methods and approaches, such as dialectics, consistency, the method of scientific abstraction, comparative and factor analysis, and the logical approach. Work results. The role and significance of the IFC as an important source of external financial resources are disclosed. Scientific approaches to the use of international financial assistance and ensuring economic development in conditions of financial imbalances are summarized. It is shown that the experience of international financial organizations and their recommendations make it possible to take into account global and regional trends and processes, risks and problems in the financial environment. This is important for shaping the financial policy of sovereign states and improving the formats of their cooperation in the international arena. Findings. Financial cooperation with international institutions is a powerful source and an effective tool for the development of the national economy. The resources of international financial institutions are used to implement programs aimed at market reform, ensuring the stability of the national currency, solving socio-economic problems, economic growth, financing the state budget deficit and balancing the balance of payments. But financial debt to these institutions makes the country's economy vulnerable and dependent on foreign creditors. Now, when Ukraine is in a state of crisis, the issue of finding resources in the external market needs an urgent solution. Of particular relevance is the search for ways to expand international financial cooperation of Ukraine, which is associated with the need to provide the national economy with the necessary amount of financial resources due to a lack of funds in the Ukrainian market. A sovereign country has advantages in obtaining external official financial resources in comparison with other economic entities, which are determined by the trust in the sovereign state. This means support in the international arena and better conditions for receiving financial assistance. Additional financial resources as part of external official assistance allow the introduction of the latest technologies and financing mechanisms of the IFC, which improves the best management of financial resources and increases the efficiency of their use.
The energy resources of Central Asia and the Caucasus have drawn significant scholarly attention due to their geopolitical importance and role in regional economic development. Western multilateral ...development banks (MDBs), such as the World Bank and the EBRD, have been the leading actors shaping norms and practices for lending to the energy sectors of these regions. China has also recently emerged as the top investor in hydrocarbons and renewables in Central Asia, at the same time increasing its presence in the Caucasus. How have Western MDBs and China shaped each other's lending practices? By exploring the what and the how of development finance in the energy sectors of Central Asia and the Caucasus, this study argues that a dual transformation is under way. The World Bank and the EBRD are now working closely with key local stakeholders in the recipient states to make energy reforms more successful. China, on the other hand, is now cooperating more closely with Western MDBs, and accepting and implementing some of their market principles and environmental targets. The article demonstrates that the West vs. China dichotomy based on neoliberalism vs. state-capitalism is blurred and the post-Soviet energy sector includes features of both models.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was created in the early 1990s to promote the transition to a market economy and advance democracy in the post-communist countries of East ...Central Europe. How and why did this international organization, established for an entirely different purpose, then become an active investor in Egypt? Building on field theory, we explain the EBRD's move to Egypt as an attempt to overcome the hysteresis effect of its anachronistic operational logic (habitus) within a changing field. Once in Egypt, the EBRD aspired to leverage its symbolic capital of technical assistance, democratic commitment and the privileging of the private sector. However, given Egypt's increasingly autocratic and state capitalist evolution, it found delivering on its symbolic capital problematic. Its solution was to adapt to the very active European development finance field's modalities. However, the European field's logic ultimately de-prioritized democracy, human rights promotion, and poverty reduction and instead focused on sustainable investment, migration mitigation and containing Europe's geo-economic rivals. In our case study, we demonstrate that the EBRD operated deftly within this field, while it also gained permission and even reward for its mandate management. It is a problematic finding for the future of the EU development policy.
The world is changing into a village due to the common need to meet the population’s energy demands. Scholars link such transformation with energy’s relevance in meeting economic and social ...development and improving human welfare. This paper aims to evaluate the social cost savings of solar energy projects funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Egypt. The paper provides an overview of the EBRD's involvement in promoting renewable energy in Egypt and its impact on the country's energy mix. The paper analyzes the three solar energy projects funded by the EBRD and their contribution to reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable development. Through calculating the avoided carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the saved social costs of these projects, the study concludes that the contribution of the EBRD is substantial, which highlights the importance of partnering in renewable energy to achieve sustainable development goals and mitigate climate change.
In 2011, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) extended its mandate beyond Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to the Middle East. Since then, it has supported financial ...institutions, private sector involvement, energy production and, most recently, infrastructure and public service reforms. While the EBRD presents itself as supporting the region's economies in light of the refugee 'crisis', I question the power relations driving its recent public investments there. I situate them within the context of global capitalism's crises since the Great Recession and MDBs' development agendas in the Middle East, specifically increased aid since 2011. I argue that, jointly advanced by the EBRD and Jordanian state, the EBRD's public loans in Jordan offer fixes for capitalism's crises to the benefit of donors, the state as well as private investors. More specifically, the EBRD's projects and emphasis on the refugee "crisis" entrench and justify market-based neoliberal reforms in Jordan's infrastructure and public services, opening them up to investment and expanding accumulation at the expense of public interest. The Jordanian state is an active partner and beneficiary of these projects, not only establishing the necessary regulatory frameworks for them, but also aligning them with its own development agendas and interests.
"After the Berlin Wall' tells the inside story of an international financial institution, the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBRD), created in the aftermath of communism to help ...the countries of central and eastern Europe transition towards open market-oriented democratic economies. The first volume of a history in two parts, After the Berlin Wall charts the EBRD’s life from a fledgling high-risk start-up investing in former socialist countries from 1991 to become an established member of the international financial community, which (as of April 2020) operates in almost 40 countries across three continents. This volume describes the multilateral negotiations that created this cosmopolitan institution with a ‘European character’ and the emergence of the EBRD’s unique business model: a focus on the private sector and a mission to deliver development impact with sustainable financial returns. The author recounts the challenges that ‘transition’ countries faced in moving from a defunct to a functioning economic system and maps the EBRD’s response to critical events, from the dissolution of the Soviet Union, to the safe confinement of the Chernobyl disaster site, the debt default in Russia and the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008."
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