Eastern Europe climate plans struggle to keep pace with EU’s green ambitions
Press release | 15 October, 2020Brussels – An in-depth assessment published yesterday [1] by the European Commission of the 27 EU states’ National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) highlights the growing gap between what eastern members’ plan and the ambitious targets set in the European Green Deal.
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Any increase in renewable energy targets must exclude environmentally destructive projects
Blog entry | 29 September, 2020Raising renewable energy targets alone will not be enough to reduce GHG emissions in a sustainable manner. The Commission must also match this with tighter criteria for hydropower and biomass projects.
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The (Un)Just Transition Fund: the European Parliament shows how green it really is
Blog entry | 22 September, 2020Hours after the European Commission announced plans to increase the GHG emissions reduction target to 55%, MEPs voted to keep fossil fuels in the Just Transition Fund.
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MEPs gas a green EU budget by voting for fossil fuels in Just Transition Fund
Press release | 16 September, 2020The European Parliament plenary session today voted for a 17.5 billion euros Just transition Fund that would permit the funding of fossil fuels projects, striking a blow to the EU’s ambitious European Green Deal.
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EU-China leaders’ meeting: EU must do more to tackle legal breaches by Chinese companies in Europe, say civil society organisations
Press release | 14 September, 2020The European Union needs to step up its actions on violations of EU law by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Europe, warned civil society groups working in southeast Europe today (1), as European and Chinese leaders meet online in lieu of the postponed Leipzig summit.
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Latvia supports climate neutrality by 2050 as long as EU budget follows suit
Blog entry | 4 September, 2020The next decade is crucial to invest in climate action and start decarbonising every Member State, and EU funds account for most of the financial support that Latvia will receive in the upcoming seven years.
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New report calls on Member States to steer EU regional and recovery funding towards climate neutrality
Press release | 16 July, 2020Ahead of this week’s European Council meeting where Heads of State will gather to discuss and potentially agree on the next term EU budget, the report analyses investments and measures presented in the NECPs of the following 14 Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. It points out the measures in NECPs that are set to receive funding from the next EU budget and recovery funding, makes the case for significant spending improvements to boost climate ambition, and indicates harmful measures in the NECPs that should be excluded from the EU funding.
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European Parliament asks European Investment Bank to double down on sustainability and transparency
Press release | 9 July, 2020The European Parliament has called on the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world’s largest public lender, to facilitate Europe’s effort to tackle the climate crisis by fully aligning its investment policies and practices with the Paris climate accord.
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EU budget breakthrough achievable with higher climate ambition, say campaigners
Press release | 19 June, 2020Brussels – Emphasising green spending in the next one trillion plus euros EU budget is the surest way to reach an agreement on the deal while leading the bloc to a more resilient recovery from the pandemic, say campaigners at CEE Bankwatch Network ahead of today’s European Council.
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Polish government urged to include municipalities, civil society in planning future of coal regions
Press release | 1 June, 2020Warsaw – As the Polish government is gearing up to prepare plans for the transformation of coal regions that would allow it to tap a 40 billion euro Just Transition Fund made available by Brussels, local municipalities and civil society demand to be included in the planning process.
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