“They should not be called public development banks”

A sign-on statement denounces public development banks for financing companies and private projects that heavily impact communities, their food sovereignty and territories. From 9-12 November 2020, 450 finance institutions gathered for the first international meeting of public development banks, dubbed the “Finance in Common” summit, hosted by the French government. These institutions collectively spend $2 trillion a year on so-called development projects – roads, power plants, agribusiness plantations and more - claiming that these corporate projects drive growth and jobs. Much of this spending is financed by people’s labour and taxes, which is why the banks called themselves public. But as the petition states, “public development banks are disconnected from any sense of what “public” means and any argument about what “development” should look like”. Read and disseminate the statement in English, French or Spanish here.