Western Sahara Resource Watch raises concerns around Vigeo Eiris Maroc's certificaton of green bonds in occupied territory
"WSRW concerned: Vigeo Eiris greenwashes dirty energy on occupied land", 23 Dec 2017
International investors have shied away from funding Morocco's dirty 'green' energy in occupied Western Sahara. But a Moroccan subsidiary of the French-UK firm Vigeo Eiris has stepped in to certify the bonds which will secure the necessary financing...On 7 November it was known that the Moroccan subsidary of Vigeo Eiris had certified so-called green bonds for the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) for Moroccan solar projects that will be built on two locations in Western Sahara...Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) sent a first letter to Vigeo Eiris on 18 November 2016 requesting whether the information could be true that a Moroccan subsidiary of Vigeo Eiris indeed was certifying something that apparently is against the same principles that it advocates for elsewhere.Vigeo Eiris responded on 19 December. Vigeo Eiris surprisingly noted that it could be seen as an political statement to not take on an assignment in Western Sahara. Today, WSRW sent Vigeo Eiris a follow-up letter with questions regarding the contract, its policies and its interpretation of international law applicable to Western Sahara.In its letter, WSRW demanded Vigeo Eiris to cancel the certification, based on the principles outlined and decided in the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU...