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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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
Just transition
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. They should be working together to find what is best for their regions and communities, from creating good quality jobs to identifying sustainable alternatives.
Rovinari unit 7, Romania
The Romanian Government has been negotiating for several years with the Chinese Government to build a new 600 MW unit at the lignite power plant in Rovinari, Gorj County. The new unit would be built on the site of Units 1 and 2, currently decommissioned. A new up and running plant would pollute the whole region for at least 40 more years, a coal plant’s average lifespan.
Gacko II, Bosnia and Herzegovina
State-owned utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske, together with China Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and Emerging Markets Power Fund, plans to build a new 350 MW lignite power plant in Gacko, near the town’s existing plant, and in December 2017 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to move the project forward.
Latest news
Runners raise the alarm about air pollution from coal power during inaugural Lung Run
Blog entry | 22 December, 2020One of the leading reasons for the extremely polluted air are the outdated and substandard coal-fired power plants in the region. The 16 plants operating in the Western Balkan countries emit as much sulphur dioxide and dust pollution as the entire fleet of coal plants in the EU.
Read moreTime to end the damaging cycle of land, surface and groundwater pollution in Tuzla
Blog entry | 21 December, 2020There are few things one can be sure of in life, but the constant anxiety communities near Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tuzla power plant experience is one of them.
Read moreEl IIDMA ve necesario una planificación anticipada de procesos de transición justa ante el cierre de centrales de carbón
Bankwatch in the media | 17 December, 2020El Instituto Internacional de Derecho y Medio Ambiente (IIDMA), junto con la coalición Europe Beyond Coal(EBC) y Bankwatch Network, han señalado que, a medida que las centrales de carbón cierran en favor de las energías renovables, se debería asegurar una planificación anticipada de los procesos de transición justa para asegurar las oportunidades económicas y de bienestar para las comunidades y trabajadores afectados por estos cierres.
Read moreRelated publications
Jadar Lithium Mine, Serbia: A Raw Deal ICT metal mining case study
Study | 15 March, 2021 | Download PDFThe Jadar River Valley in western Serbia has the potential to become home one of the world’s largest lithium mines, supplying 10% of the world’s demand and supporting the neighbouring EU’s digital transition agenda. The Serbian government, therefore, p
Pollution of land, surface and groundwater near the slag and ash disposal site of Tuzla thermal power plant
Study | 18 December, 2020 | Download PDFFrom 1 March – 31 August 2020, an analysis of water and soil samples was conducted in the area of influence of the closed slag and ash disposal sites in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – Plane, Divkovići I, Divkovići II, Drežnik and Jezero I – as w
Pathways for Just Transitions in South East Europe
Policy comments | 14 December, 2020 | Download PDFThis policy paper is a companion piece to “Accelerated Lignite Exit in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece”, a report published in May 2020 modelling the impact of the early retirement of some coal and all lignite power plants in the electricity sector in the three countries.
