United States
£ GBP
The 1992 Rio Earth Summit was supposed to be a turning point for the World Bank. Environmental concerns would now play a major role in its lending - programmes and projects would go beyond economic development to "sustainable development." More than two decades later, efforts to green the bank seem pallid. Bruce Rich argues that the Bank's current institutional problems are extensions of flaws that had been present since its founding. His new book, Foreclosing the Future, tells the story of the Bank from the Rio Earth Summit to today. For readers who want the full history of the Bank's environmental record, Rich's acclaimed 1994 critique, Mortgaging the Earth, is an essential companion. Called a "detailed and thought-provoking look at an important subject" by The New York Times, Mortgaging the Earth analyzes the twenty year period leading up the Rio Summit. Rich offers not only an important history but critical insights about economic development that are ever-more relevant today.
This is a reprint of the 1994 original.
"This is a detailed and thought-provoking look at an important subject from the viewpoint of a passionate advocate."
- The New York Times Book Review
"Important"
- The Los Angeles Times
"This exposé deserves a wide readership."
- Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Rips apart the bank's lending policies and has sent the noble institution into a spin"
- The Guardian
"One of the most insightful and detailed accounts of the World Bank's planning processes and their negative environmental impacts across the Third World."
- Library Journal
"Poses timely questions"
- Financial Times
"A detailed catalogue of such misdemeanours"
- The Economist
"Disturbing."
- The Nation
"More than just a high-minded exposé [...] [a] fine book."
- The Village Voice
"A vivid history"
- The Globe & Mail
