CLIMATE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Development Banks Backing Problematic Mineral Projects, Report Finds
WHY IT MATTERS
This practice undermines the goal of a fair transition to renewable energy, where countries where raw materials are located face significant environmental and social costs, while reaping limited economic benefits.
What happened
A report by the International Accountability Project analyzed 77 development bank-backed transition minerals projects globally, approved between 2023 and 2025. The analysis revealed that over half of the projects and nearly three-quarters of African projects showed evidence of environmental, social, and human rights risks.
The report criticizes the lack of due diligence by development banks in lending to multinational mining corporations with poor human rights records.
This practice is seen as reinforcing a colonial way of extraction, where countries financing extraction reap most of the economic benefits while countries where raw materials are located face environmental degradation.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Development banks are backing problematic mineral projects, report finds
Mongabay · Bobbybascomb · Discovery and factual synthesis only; publisher copyright terms apply