05 OCT 2015
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s opportunity to strengthen its environmental and social requirements, Oxfam says
Oxfam welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) draft.
It commends the AIIB for putting in place environmental and social requirements to guide its investments. The development agency also welcomes the fact that the AIIB is seeking public comment on the draft framework as it believes environmental and social standards and consultative processes are key to ensuring responsible successful investment.
Although the AIIB is taking a step in the right direction, Oxfam believes that the AIIB has an opportunity to enhance its processes and ultimately its investment outcomes. It can do this by further integrating best practices for social and environmental impacts and by expanding its consultation process on the ESF draft.
Environmental and social safeguard policies have traditionally been treated as risk mitigation approaches by investors. However, there is growing recognition that sound environmental and social practices are crucial for successful investments and long-term sustainable project outcomes. Oxfam encourages the AIIB to consider the benefits of environmental and social policy requirements in supporting long-term project outcomes.