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
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
A Green Agenda for the Western Balkans: Where are the teeth?
Blog entry | 8 October, 2020The European Commission on Tuesday published its 2020 enlargement package and an Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. This was followed on Wednesday by a Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, expected to be endorsed by the countries’ leaders at a summit in Sofia in November. We take a look at how the proposed Green Agenda compares to our recommendations.
Read moreMEPs gas a green EU budget by voting for fossil fuels in Just Transition Fund
Press release | 16 September, 2020The European Parliament plenary session today voted for a 17.5 billion euros Just transition Fund that would permit the funding of fossil fuels projects, striking a blow to the EU’s ambitious European Green Deal.
Read moreEU-China leaders’ meeting: EU must do more to tackle legal breaches by Chinese companies in Europe, say civil society organisations
Press release | 14 September, 2020The European Union needs to step up its actions on violations of EU law by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Europe, warned civil society groups working in southeast Europe today (1), as European and Chinese leaders meet online in lieu of the postponed Leipzig summit.
Read moreRelated publications
Chinese-built coal projects in Europe
Briefing | 14 September, 2020 | Download PDFA real and immediate threat to the EU’s decarbonisation efforts
TERRITORIAL JUST TRANSITION PLAN CHECKLIST
Briefing | 23 July, 2020 | Download PDFHow to make TJTPs climate and people driven
How to hit the ground running on just transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine
Advocacy letter | 15 July, 2020 | Download PDFRecommendations for the Secretariat of the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine
