Belgrade incinerator: Serbia to be a dumping ground for outdated technology?
July 22, 2019
The Serbian Ministry of Environment recently published the environmental assessment for the planned Vinča waste incinerator for public consultation. But the study shows no sign that the new plant would be in line with new EU pollution control standards approved in June.
Seven Golden Rules for open and inclusive just transition planning at the regional level
July 15, 2019
Every region and every community is different. As EU countries wake up to the climate emergency and the need for a swift transition to a sustainable and carbon-neutral society, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need regional and community-level
Ahead of Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank meeting in Luxembourg, over 89 000 petition bank to drop Nenskra dam project in Georgia
July 12, 2019
Luxembourg, Prague, Tbilisi – Representatives from the “Stop Nenskra” campaign [1] showed up in Luxembourg at the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) annual meeting on July 12th and delivered a petition to the international development banks calling them on not to finance the Nenskra hydropower plant project [2] in Svaneti, Georgia.
Slovak government approves Just Transition plan for Upper Nitra
July 3, 2019
The Slovak government is today approving a plan for Upper Nitra’s transition away from coal, which was created based on inputs from the local community.
New opportunities for eastern Europe if the EU’s bank ramps up climate ambition and quits fossil fuels
June 13, 2019
Ahead of the European Investment Bank’s annual governors’ meeting, several EU’s finance ministers put forward a joint non-paper “Climate for the future of Europe” with an idea to transform the EIB: make green financing its top priority and promote investments in energy and climate transition. The right initiative risks failing if not supported by the majority of the bank’s shareholders, in particular by the eastern states that wrongfully fear that EIB’s increasing ambition in climate finance will unfavorably impact the bank’s presence in their countries.
In Georgia, leaked contract shows Nenskra hydropower project to cost country USD 60 million a year
June 10, 2019
For immediate release. Prague, Tbilisi – A leaked contract between the Georgian government and the company behind the Nenskra hydropower project includes terms that indicate the project will incur massive losses for the state, according to a report broadcast on 8 June by the national television station Rustavi 2 [1].
New study finds climate and energy plans at odds with EU targets for circular economy and emissions reductions
June 5, 2019
For immediate release – Five countries in central and eastern Europe all plan a variety of waste incineration methods in their national energy and climate plans (NECPs), jeopardising their ability to meet mandatory European targets aimed at improving recycling rates, fostering a circular economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the sector, finds a new report from CEE Bankwatch Network.
Waste incineration with energy recovery in the NECPs of Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia
June 4, 2019
Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia all plan to expand the use of waste incineration to generate energy (mostly heat) as part of their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). These plans will lead to much higher greenhouse gas emissions (
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Environmental permit for Buk Bijela hydropower plant cancelled
May 30, 2019
The Banja Luka District Court has cancelled the environmental permit for the planned 93 MW Buk Bijela hydropower plant on the river Drina in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Aarhus Resource Center in Sarajevo has announced today, following the court’s positive 13 May ruling on the Center’s complaint.
EBRD to Stop Financing HPPs in Protected Areas – Exit – Explaining Albania
May 28, 2019
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that starting from January 1, 2020 it will not finance hydropower plants (HPP) projects in areas with high biodiversity. EBRD’s new environmental and social policy sets stricter