Q.What is the criterion for making environmental and social considerations in an environmental review?

A.

In confirming environmental and social considerations, NEXI confirms compliance with environmental laws and regulations established by the government (central or local) of the project country and confirms whether a project meets the following international standards.
-World Bank Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) or IFC Performance standards
-Notwithstanding the above, IFC Performance Standards in the cases of (i) limited recourse or non-recourse project finance projects, (ii) structured financing transactions that share characteristics with project finance, (iii) other financial institutions who are forming a significant part of the project applying IFC Performance Standards, and (iv) other projects recognized as appropriate.
In addition, if there is a relevant section of the Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines (EHS Guidelines) of the World Bank Group, NEXI will confirm whether the projects meet that section. However, referring to these standards as benchmarks is to be conducted based on the Common Approaches.
When deemed appropriate, NEXI also uses, as reference points or benchmarks, standards established by other international financial institutions, other internationally recognized standards, and standards or good practices established by developed countries such as Japan.
In addition, the Guidelines stipulates, "If NEXI believes environmental and social considerations of the project substantially deviate from these standards and good practices, it confirms the background and rationale for this, and, when necessary, countermeasures against such deviation."
(For details, please refer to the paragraph III.3. of the Guidelines.)