World Bank President James Wolfensohn agreed to commission an “Extractive Industries Review” September 2000, in response to international pressure from Friends of the Earth and others. Bank-financed fossil fuel and mining projects have been plagued by significant environmental and social problems and fail to alleviate poverty.

The final, groundbreaking EIR report released November 2003, reflects many of the recommendations Friends of the Earth has advocated and could significantly change the course of future World Bank lending in the oil, gas and mining sectors. 

The report calls for halting Bank financing for coal projects immediately, phasing out support for oil projects by 2008, dramatically increasing investment in clean, renewable energy, implementing a “no go zones” policy that would bar Bank investments in ecologically sensitive areas and giving indigenous communities the right to clear projects through prior informed consent.