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
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.
Kamengrad lignite power plant, Bosnia-Herzegovina
An idea to build a power plant at the open-cast Kamengrad coal mine near Sanski Most in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina has been around for years, but in 2017 it took a step forward with the November signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Energy China International and the Bosnia-Herzegovina construction supplier Lager d.o.o. for a 2 X 215 MW plant.
Latest news
Zaključak izvještaja CEE Bankwatch mreže: Nerealna obećanja o novim radnim mjestima u termoelektranama
Bankwatch in the media | 29 June, 2018Nerealna obećanja o zapošljavanju daju lažnu nadu stanovnicima rudarskih oblasti u Jugoistočnoj Evropi i bespotrebno odlažu neminovnu tranziciju energetskog sektora ka obnovljivim izvorima energije. Rad većine ovih termoelektrana i rudnika je već sada …
Read morePromises for coal jobs in southeastern Europe greatly exaggerated – study
Bankwatch in the media | 29 June, 2018Proponents of coal have overall claimed that 10,030 jobs would be maintained and 17,600 new jobs created, while according to new analysis a reduction of workplaces by around 5,170 is more likely, CEE Bankwatch Network said in a press release. Source: P …
Read moreAnaliză: Locurile de muncă din industria cărbunelui, între promisiuni şi realitate
Bankwatch in the media | 28 June, 2018Promotorii energiei pe bază de cărbune pretind că aproape 30.000 de locuri de muncă vor fi create sau păstrate în Europa de sud-est dacă termocentralele planificate vor fi construite, însă o analiză Bankwatch lansată astăzi arată că peste 5.000 de locu …
Read moreRelated publications
The great coal jobs fraud (2018 UPDATE)
Study | 28 June, 2018 |This study, an update of our November 2016 analysis, examines the claims and finds that in almost all cases, they are exaggerated. In fact, even the current levels of employment cannot be maintained and some companies such as Elektroprivreda Srbije and …
New Kosovo power plant – an expensive and outdated anomaly in a decarbonising world
Briefing | 19 June, 2018 | Download PDFAfter years of delay, the New Kosovo lignite power plant took a step forward in 2017 with the signing of commercial contracts. However, numerous old issues, including carbon emissions, resettlement, and the dubious single-bidder procurement process, ha …
How can the EBRD maximise its leverage to bring about decarbonisation?
Briefing | 19 June, 2018 | Download PDFThe 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 …
