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World Bank urged to rethink investment in one of Brazil’s big beef companies
By Andrew Wasley and Alexandra Heal
The World Bank should reconsider its investment in one of Brazil’s biggest beef producers because of the industry’s links to deforestation and the climate crisis, according to two UN-appointed experts.
Minerva is Brazil’s second largest beef exporter, and some of its product is supplied, both directly and indirectly, by cattle farmers based in the Amazon rainforest.
However, although it has been able to certify 100% of its direct suppliers as zero-deforestation, it is currently — like the other large Brazilian beef companies — unable to monitor indirect suppliers.
The World Bank’s investment arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) holds a significant stake in Minerva.
“In light of the global climate crisis, the World Bank should ensure that all of its investments are climate-friendly and respect human rights and divest from businesses that fail to meet these criteria,” David Boyd, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
His predecessor in the post, the international law professor John Knox, said the IFC and other finance houses should ensure they were not contributing to…
