Open letter to multinational development banks: STOP supporting waste incineration!

TO:
Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank
Mr. Takehiko Nakao, President, Asian Development Bank
Mr. Liqun Jin, President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Sir Suma Chakrabarti, President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Mr. Werner Hoyer, President, European Investment Bank
Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank
Mr. James P. Scriven, Chief Executive Officer, Inter-American Investment Corporation
Dr. Bandar M. H. Hajjar, President, Islamic Development Bank
Mr. K. V. Kamath, President, New Development Bank
Mr. Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank

We, the undersigned organizations from national, regional and international NGOs, grassroots and community groups, and individuals from 54 countries, are alarmed by the support of multilateral development banks (MDBs), for waste incinerators, including so-called “waste-to-energy” (WTE) incinerators.

We maintain that waste incinerators, in any form, are part of a failed system that is putting the planet and societies in the wrong path. These facilities:

Threaten people and the environment
Incineration endangers people’s health and well-being, destroys livelihoods and harms the environment. Incinerators generate toxic ash and sludge and emit toxic chemicals such as dioxins, furans and mercury.
Contribute to climate change
Incinerators emit significant quantities of greenhouse gases. Burning waste is not renewable energy and takes investments away from renewable energy solutions; waste is from non-renewable resources, and plastics are from fossil fuels.
Damage local and national economies
Incineration is the most expensive way to manage waste and produce electricity, and it prevents the implementation of Zero Waste solutions that create jobs and invigorate local economies.
Obstruct resource sustainability
Incineration perpetuates the unsustainable “take, make, waste” linear economic model that abets wasting and the continuous extraction of natural resources.

We believe that:
– support of waste incinerators runs counter to the stated mission of development banks,
– waste incinerators are not “sustainable, accessible, resilient”, nor “quality infrastructure” that should be considered for developing countries, and
– waste burning detracts from the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate goals.

We further assert that public money should not be used to fund nor promote these facilities in the Global South.

Communities and local governments in the Global South are struggling to improve the management of their natural resources, address growing pollution and waste in cities, and cope with climate change impacts.

Many cities and communities have proven that a transition into Zero Waste systems is a viable solution, providing a key opportunity for them to decouple economic growth from excessive resource extraction, consumption and wastage. Their efforts, however, are under threat from lack of financing and investments wasted on building and maintaining destructive infrastructure, such as trash incinerators.

We strongly believe that Zero Waste is the direction that MDBs should be advancing in order to protect the environment and public health, help communities and cities build robust local economies, generate productive jobs and livelihoods, and help mitigate climate change.

We call on the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Inter-American Investment Corporation, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank and World Bank, together with the UN and governments of wealthy countries, to:

Halt the aggressive promotion of, and phase out all financing for waste incineration, including so-called “waste-to-energy” incineration in borrowing countries; and stop promoting waste incineration as “renewable energy.”

Prioritize waste and resource management approaches at the top of the waste hierarchy, which address the waste problem at root—primarily through reduction, reuse and redesign; refrain from endorsing waste incineration projects; and stop advocating waste incineration in all publications and statements.

Support borrowing countries in pursuing and funding sustainable, just and equitable Zero Waste solutions that effectively addresses their unique contexts and needs, supports local economies and livelihoods, and respects and integrates the informal waste sector.

Signed,

Countries

Organizations and Networks

Individual signers (including Zero Waste and anti-incineration experts, grassroots and community leaders, organizers, advocates and campaigners)