Commentary: Is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank a Responsible Investor?
"Is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank a Responsible Investor?", 27 October 2021
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Safeguarding the Rights of Those Impacted by AIIB Projects
With the new ESF now in effect, attention must turn to implementation and ensuring accountability for noncompliance. The AIIB has expressed a commitment to learning as it grows, and nowhere is this as important as environmental and social protection. [...] Adequate disclosure is crucial to ensure that the public is informed when the AIIB is involved in a project—both directly and indirectly. This will require full transparency about projects and companies that receive AIIB support, as well as the recipients of its intermediary lending. A major question mark remains around the bank’s capital market projects. [...]
Another crucial test of the AIIB’s commitment to responsible and sustainable investment will be the independence and effectiveness of the bank’s accountability office, the Project-affected People’s Mechanism (PPM). [...]