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
BANKWATCH: AS ROMANIA ABANDONS NEW COAL PROJECT, A LARGER GAS THREAT LOOMS
Bankwatch in the media | 14 December, 2020Source: BANKWATCH: AS ROMANIA ABANDONS NEW COAL PROJECT, A LARGER GAS THREAT LOOMS
Read morePokrenuta Platforma za podršku energetskoj tranziciji u regionima uglja na Zapadnom Balkanu i u Ukrajini
Bankwatch in the media | 11 December, 2020Platforma za podršku energetskoj tranziciji u regionima uglja na Zapadnom Balkanu i u Ukrajini zvanično je započela sa radom. Cilj platforme je da pomogne ovim zemljama da prestanu da koriste ugalj u proizvodnji energije.
Read more18 NGOs call on the Coal Platform for the Western Balkans and Ukraine to commit to public participation and climate action
Press release | 10 December, 2020As the Coal Platform for the Western Balkans and Ukraine kicks off with an inaugural meeting on Dec. 10-11, 18 NGOs active in the Western Balkans and Ukraine call for effective rules to be put in place from the start in order to ensure an inclusive transition away from all fossil fuels.
Read moreRelated publications
A case study on the Beli Kamen and Komalj hydropower plants on the Crni Rzav and Ribnica Rivers in Serbia
Study | 22 April, 2021 | Download PDFThe small hydropower plants Beli Kamen and Komalj are built on the Crni Rzav and Ribnica Rivers of the Drina basin in western Serbia. Both plants are interconnected, as they use water from the same intakes and were financed by the European Investment B
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
