The economic viability of coal is ever decreasing. Without public financial support many coal investments are doomed to fail. Yet several institutions are still willing to finance an energy source that wrecks our climate, damages our health and wastes our money.
To help bring about a world beyond coal, we investigate and promote a socially responsible transition while exposing the economic, legal, social and environmental risks of coal power.
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We provide updates in English from the Balkans and other coal regions.
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Just transition
No one should be left behind when we reconstruct our world into one driven by clean energy. Working on just transition brings all actors who believe in fair regional redevelopment to the same table: unions, industry, public administration, governments, civil society and others sharing this goal.
Coal projects
Kolubara B lignite-fired power plant, Serbia
The Kolubara B thermal power plant site is situated near Kalenic village, 60 km south-west of Belgrade, at the northern side of the Tamnava Open Cast Mine. The decision to build the 2×350 MW plant was taken in 1983 and construction started in 1988. Construction progressed slowly until 1992, when work was suspended due to sanctions against Serbia. At this stage about 40 percent of the facility had already been constructed, partly with the assistance of a World Bank loan.
Kostolac B3 lignite power plant, Serbia
Serbia’s state-owned utility Elektroprivreda Srbije is planning a new 350 MW lignite plant at Kostolac in the country’s north-east. In spite of high level support and Chinese financing, the project is plagued by concerns over pollution, state aid and legal challenges.
Kosova e Re lignite power plant, Kosovo
Kosovo currently wastes much of the electricity it produces in its two highly polluting lignite plants: In 2016, nearly 30 percent was lost from the distribution system through technical losses and non-payment (around half each), and much more is wasted through lack of energy efficiency measures. Yet the Kosovo government, heavily backed by the US government, plans to build a new 500 MW lignite plant, Kosova e Re or New Kosovo.
Latest news
Energy Community Treaty violations dig Western Balkan countries deeper into coal hole
Blog entry | 20 January, 2020“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging” is an adage that decision-makers in the Western Balkans would do well to heed. This particularly applies to plans to bring online new coal power plants and the legal, economic and credibility risks these entail.
Read moreFunding the right incentives for the just transition
Blog entry | 14 January, 2020The Commission’s proposal for a Just Transition Fund is encouraging as fossil fuels have been excluded. Special attention should be given though to key elements such as its mode of governance, geographical scope, and the types of activities eligible for funding.
Read moreEU Just Transition Mechanism needs local ownership and concrete steps to decarbonisation
Press release | 10 January, 2020The 7.5 billion euros revealed today in a leak of the EU’s proposed Just Transition Mechanism can lead a sustainable and economically-fair move away from fossil fuels in Europe’s carbon-dependent regions, but only if local stakeholders are involved in planning the transformation and the funding is consistent with climate targets.
Read moreRelated publications
Climate action at the European Investment Bank: an overview
Briefing | 13 December, 2019 | Download PDFThe EIB had already proclaimed itself the EU’s climate bank long before the new EU Commission of Ursula von der Leyen presented the idea of transforming a part of the Bank into Europe’s Climate Bank. It has been over a decade now since the EIB establis
Chinese-financed coal projects in Europe
Briefing | 10 December, 2019 | Download PDFAs coal phase-out is well underway in the European Union, and the international community is mobilizing to tackle the climate crisis, new coal plants are still planned and built in Southeast Europe, courtesy of Chinese financial support.
Comply or close: how Western Balkan coal plants breach air pollution laws and what governments must do about it
Study | 10 December, 2019 | Download PDFIn 2018, pollution control legislation under the Energy Community Treaty finally obliged the Western Balkan countries to start reducing the choking air pollution from their coal power plants. Action was badly needed. In 2016, these 16 plants emitted as
