Blog 17.09.20 Who will be the next president of the EBRD? (And why Big Shift Global members care)

17 September 2020

Whoever becomes president of the EBRD must lead the bank quickly and decisively to act on climate change and energy access for all.

In the context of COVID-19 recovery, public money must be used to improve resilience for everyone and especially the most vulnerable who are worst affected by the COVID-19 and climate crises.

There are three candidates in the running for the Presidency of the EBRD: Odile Renaud-Basso of France, Pier Carlo Padoan of Italy and Tadeusz Kościński of Poland. With a decision due in October, we want to hear from the candidates about how they will lead the bank on climate and energy access.

The Big Shift Campaign calls for an end to public money being used to finance fossil fuels and a shift to investment in renewable energy access for all and this must happen as soon as possible. To achieve this, strong leadership by the multilateral development banks (MDBs) is vital.

MDBs, including the EBRD, must set the standard for green, sustainable investment and this means no investments in any fossil fuels and increased investments in renewable energy to provide energy access for all. MDBs must lead the way on alignment with the Paris Agreement. Our recent infographic provides more detail on this.

Action on the climate crisis must be part of the decision on who should be the next president of the EBRD. For this reason, we will be highlighting what candidates have said on climate and ask them the important questions about the direction they will take the bank and their commitment to Paris-alignment.

Watch interviews with the three candidates here:

Odile Renaud-Basso https://youtu.be/aQ8u113zLkc

Tadeusz Kościński :https://youtu.be/Jzsy9uX28TA

Pier Carlo Padoan https://youtu.be/wwvZLYm1PSs

Big Shift Global will continue to ask questions and hold the MDBs including their leaders to account in their actions on climate and energy access.

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