Pedalling forward in Daugavpils: Towards a cyclist-friendly city
April 14, 2025
On the afternoon of 28 March, residents, municipal representatives, and locally elected officials joined a panel of experts in the Latvian city of Daugavpils to discuss the future of cycling in the city. The aim of the event was to identify existing challenges as well as practical solutions that might encourage more residents to choose cycling as a regular mode of transport.
Unlocking Serbia’s district heating potential: The public energy services company model in focus
April 11, 2025
The Western Balkans is facing a pressing energy crisis, largely due to outdated district heating systems that waste vast amounts of energy. In Serbia alone, district heating networks serve over 700,0000 households, yet inefficiencies have led to energy losses of up to 12 per cent, resulting in higher costs and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Energy consumption per square metre is nearly triple that of western Europe, mainly due to poor insulation and ageing infrastructure. Rising energy prices and reliance on often imported fossil fuels make energy efficiency an economic necessity.
Romania: Key Black Sea gas pipeline goes on trial
February 27, 2025
‘Gas hub’ is Europe’s buzzword du jour, and the Romanian government certainly has high ambitions. With shiny new pipelines and a massive drilling rig in the Black Sea, Bucharest is working hard to capitalise on its neighbours’ fossil gas addiction – and to hell with the EU’s climate commitments. Even due process has been little more than an afterthought. Until this week.
Countering shrinking space: How multilateral development banks can empower civil society in the Western Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia
February 25, 2025
This report examines how multilateral development banks have failed to adequately protect civil society in the Caucasus, Western Balkans, and Central Asia.
Bihor County leads Romania’s geothermal heating revolution with EU support
January 27, 2025
Geothermal energy is becoming an increasingly popular way to heat homes and buildings across Europe. Efficient use of this renewable energy source not only significantly lowers heating costs compared to gas-based systems, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and improves urban air quality.
Unmasking the biomass dilemma in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
January 17, 2025
As EU law regulating bioenergy is not yet sufficient to avoid climate and nature damage, this report outlines why forest biomass needs to be treated with caution in the Western Balkans.
Against all logic, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Federal government ramps up fossil gas ambitions
January 14, 2025
Fossil gas makes up less than three per cent of total energy supply in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), but instead of making use of the opportunity to leapfrog straight from coal to renewables, the Federation of BiH (FBiH) government is inexplicably expanding its gasification ambitions.
Western Balkans: Environmental groups challenge Commission’s breach of Reform and Growth Facility safeguards
January 13, 2025
CEE Bankwatch Network and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe have formally requested a review (1) of the European Commission’s decision to approve five Western Balkan countries’ Reform Agendas under the new Reform and Growth Facility. The groups argue that the approval breached EU law by failing to apply mandatory environmental safeguards and public consultation requirements.
A well-designed national energy efficiency fund in North Macedonia will enable long-term energy savings in the residential and public sectors
December 20, 2024
National energy efficiency funds are widely recognised as a highly effective mechanism for boosting investment across all sectors. However, their success depends on careful design and implementation.
Bosnia and Herzegovina southern gas interconnector: ‘Why gas at all?’ should be the key question
December 18, 2024
The long-running controversy about the planned southern gas interconnector between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has dramatically reignited this month. After fervent lobbying by the US Ambassador to BiH, a special law on the project was adopted by the first of two houses of the Federation of BiH entity parliament on 12 December. But political controversies have monopolized the debate, with hardly a word on its energy, economic or climate implications.
