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
The Skopje Green City Action Plan – developing a city for citizens or for decision makers?
Blog entry | 29 July, 2019The preparation of the Skopje Green City needs to be transparent and to include citizens and civil society in a meaningful way from the early stages of planning.
Read moreFor the third year in a row, the European Commission asks Romania to stop big polluters
Blog entry | 29 July, 2019The European Commission’s July 2019 infringements package list [1] prominently features Romania. The country is called out for its industrial installations operating without an environment permit and “a systemic failure to monitor air pollution”.
Read morePollution: if emergency becomes routine in Bosnia / Bosnia Herzegovina / Areas / Homepage – Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa
Bankwatch in the media | 26 July, 2019One a few days after the other, two independent reports show the extremely serious level of industrial pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to activists, the inefficiency of old plants combines with that of institutions, which provide incompl
Read moreRelated publications
Slovak aspects of the EIB Energy Lending Policy
Policy comments | 31 March, 2019 | Download PDFOne of the biggest challenges in Slovakia is to ensure systematic support for the development of decentralised, non-fossil and sustainable energy system. The European Investment Bank (EIB) already invested far too much into fossil gas (77 per cent of a
Coal in the Romanian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP)
Briefing | 13 March, 2019 | Download PDFRomania was among the countries which managed to submit its draft NECP before the deadline at the end of 2018. This came at a cost – a very limited period for consultations (only ten days), a fact which was signalled by most interested stakeholders. Th
Barriers and project criteria for the Upper Nitra region transition process
Briefing | 5 March, 2019 | Download PDFThis study serves as an invitation and starting point for further discussions and collaboration on just transition in the Upper Nitra region of Slovakia. A just transformation means that while transitioning from coal, the projects of big corporations w
