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Extracted Text (OCR)
Cite as: 586 U.S. (2019) 5
Opinion of the Court
developed areas, thus supplementing the activities of” the
World Bank. Articles of Agreement of the International
Finance Corporation, Art. I, Dec. 5, 1955, 7 U.S. T. 2198,
T. I. A. S. No. 8620. Whereas the World Bank primarily
provides loans and grants to developing countries for
public-sector projects, the IFC finances private-sector
development projects that cannot otherwise attract capital
on reasonable terms. See Art. I), ibid. In 2018, the IFC
provided some $28 billion in such financing.
The IFC expects its loan recipients to adhere to a set. of
performance standards designed to “avoid, mitigate, and
manage risks and impacts” associated with development
projects. IFC Performance Standards on Environmental
and Social Sustainability, Jan. 1, 2012, p.2, 41. Those
standards are usually more stringent than any established
by local law. The IFC includes the standards in its loan
agreements and enforces them through an internal review
process. Brief for Respondent 10.
In 2008, the IFC loaned $450 million to Coastal Gujarat
Power Limited, a company located in India. The loan
helped finance the construction of a coal-fired power plant
in the state of Gujarat. Under the terms of the loan
agreement, Coastal Gujarat was required to comply with
an environmental and social action plan designed to pro-
tect areas around the plant from damage. The agreement
allowed the IFC to revoke financial support for the project
if Coastal Gujarat failed to abide by the terms of the
agreement.
The project. did not go smoothly. According to the IFC’s
internal audit, Coastal Gujarat did not comply with the
environmental and social action plan in constructing and
operating the plant. The audit report criticized the IFC
for inadequately supervising the project.
In 2015, a group of farmers and fishermen who live near
the plant, as well as a local village, sued the IFC in the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
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