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 lignite mine, Serbia
Linked to a slew of controversies, the Kolubara lignite mine in Serbia will receive loans from European public banks. Corruption allegations, pollution at local level, irregularities in resettlement of local populations and not to forget a climate damaging approach to energy investments should be reason enough to find alternatives to lignite mining.
Sostanj lignite thermal power plant unit 6, Slovenia
Slovenia has built a new 600 MW unit at the Šoštanj lignite power plant (TEŠ6) which has turned out to be a financial disaster, as well as locking the country into a carbon-intensive future with tens of millions of annual losses for the next four decades.
Latest news
The heroic dust monitor
Blog entry | 22 July, 2021This year we are marking five years since Bankwatch engaged in air pollution work in the Balkans. Throughout these years, there was one constant in the work – the environmental dust monitor. It has become the hero of many communities and is known to every organisation in the region that works for cleaner air.
Read moreSecret Chinese deal on Bosnia-Herzegovina coal plant must be urgently stopped, say NGOs
Press release | 30 June, 2021Environmental organizations have today expressed concerns and called on the Government of Republika Srpska to clearly explain what is happening with the Ugljevik 3 coal power plant and to urgently cancel the concession for the project.
Read moreCivil society wishes on the EBRD’s 30th birthday: shut the fossil fuels party
Blog entry | 29 June, 2021People around the world are already feeling the brunt of the climate crisis on an almost daily basis. Most governments accept we are in the midst of a global climate crisis, including those controlling the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). And yet, Bankwatch’s recent analysis shows that during 2019-2020, the EBRD has awarded the fossil fuels industry more than USD 2 million every day on average. Two million dollars. Every single day.
Read moreRelated publications
Western Balkan coal power plants polluted twice as much as those in the EU in 2019
Briefing | 12 July, 2021 | Download PDFThe non-compliance of Western Balkan coal power plants with the emission limits enshrined in the Energy Community Treaty is reflected in the region’s high sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and dust emissions. This briefing looks mainly at th
Status of the Territorial Just Transition Plans in central and eastern Europe: July 2021 update
Briefing | 8 July, 2021 | Download PDFThis briefing is the third in our series of updates on the Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) preparation process in seven central and eastern European (CEE) countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
It is time for EBRD to become the lighthouse for fossil-free development banks
Advocacy letter | 24 June, 2021 | Download PDFOn the occasion of its 30th anniversary, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has the opportunity to help avert climate breakdown by putting itself at the heart of the global transition to a carbon-free economy. This joint state
