MCC Releases Revised Environmental Guidelines

Washington, D.C. — The Millennium Challenge Corporation has posted on its website and released to eligible countries the revised Environmental Guidelines recently approved by the MCC Board of Directors. Recognizing that the pursuit of sustainable economic growth and a healthy environment are necessarily related, MCC prepared and distributed interim Environmental Guidelines to help ensure that MCC-funded projects are environmentally sound, designed to operate in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements, and are not likely to cause a significant environmental, health, or safety hazard. Subsequently, MCC solicited comments on the interim Environmental Guidelines during a public comment period and through extensive consultation with a variety of groups and individuals. The revised guidelines reflect this input and clarify the responsibilities of MCC and of eligible countries in the environmental review process.

In welcoming MCC's revised Environmental Guidelines, Board member Christine Todd Whitman said, “It's encouraging to see MCC engage constructively on this issue, and I appreciate MCC's efforts to help ensure environmental sustainability in its Compacts. Balancing many competing development priorities is difficult for any country, and MCC's approach to working in partnership with developing countries promises to be a very effective approach to protecting the environment.”

MCC is grateful for the active and constructive engagement of those who provided comments and looks forward to continued public participation.

Click here to view the revised Environmental Guidelines.

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Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty.