Sustainable Energy and Economy Network

This report looks at the leading corporate beneficiaries of World Bank fossil fuel finance — Halliburton, Chevron, Shell, Total, Exxon, etc. — and makes clear the quid pro quo involved in these investments: We find that 82% of all World Bank oil projects are for export back to the wealthy Northern countries.

This report examines the InterAmerican Development Bank's (IDB) investments in fossil fuels over a 12-year time span, and finds that the the development bank is pushing fossil fuel financing similar to that of the World Bank, on a smaller scale. It also finds that the largest corporate beneficiaries of this finance are based in the U.S. It also explores the energy integration trend being pushed by the IDB, a trend that also favors the movement of goods from South to North, favoring corporate profits over human needs.

This report demonstrates how the Bush/Cheney administration (and its corporate backers), international financial institutions like the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and multilateral free trade agreements like the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), together promote a corporate driven, anti-environment energy agenda in Latin America and elsewhere. Not surprisingly, Latin America is rich in energy resources: it trails only the Middle East in proven oil reserves; holds five percent of global gas reserves; and has enough coal to last for another 300 years. While oil supplies are expected to decline among OECD countries, including the U.S., they are expected to increase in Latin America at a higher rate than any other part of the world. If left unabated, the pillars that uphold this dirty energy agenda will continue their drive to access and exploit these resources, seriously undermining efforts to achieve a clean energy future.