Fossil fuels are fast losing their social license. It is becoming increasingly evident that countries’ continued reliance on dirty hydrocarbons escalates the climate crisis, worsens air pollution and enables war.
Long touted as a ‘bridge fuel,’ fossil gas now needs to be recognised by policymakers for the hurdle to the energy transition that it is, and multilateral development banks should urgently end support for gas projects and gas-dependent companies.
The energy transition has to be just and fast, with citizens, municipalities and workers as critical participants in the process. We are working to ensure no more public money is spent on coal, and public finance is used to accelerate this transition.
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IN FOCUS
Fossil gas
Fossil gas is the new coal. Although often labelled ‘natural,’ fossil gas is a major driver of the climate crisis. There is no more room for new investments in fossil gas projects if we are to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis and set a path towards decarbonisation.
District heating
District heating and individual heating are still dominated by fossil fuels and inefficient burning of wood without regard to sustainability criteria, in combination with a low degree of energy efficiency. This has to change, since heating plays a crucial role in the transition into a clean and zero-carbon economy.
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.
Modernisation fund
The Modernisation Fund can make a big difference. Redirecting future spending away from polluting energy sources while increasing support for sustainable energy investments would help Europe reduce emissions, slash air pollution, cut energy bills, improve energy security, and end the EU’s dependence on authoritarian regimes. To realise its potential, the Modernisation Fund needs to reform.
But will the EU seize the opportunity or leave its citizens to suffer the consequences?
Documentary: Turning the Tide
Our documentary exposes, for the first time, the extent of financial support four of the world’s leading multilateral development banks (MDBs) – the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – have been providing to the global fossil fuels industry over the past 13 years.
Our analysis shows that since 2008, the oil, coal and gas business has been enjoying no less than EUR 81.5 billion in support from these government-owned financial institutions in the form of loans, grants, credit lines and guarantees.
Coal projects
Ugljevik power plant, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commissioned in 1985, the 300 MW coal power plant in Ugljevik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, has become famous for emitting more sulphur dioxide than all of Germany’s coal power plants in 2019.
Pljevlja I power plant, Montenegro
The existing 225 MW Pljevlja thermal power plant in the north of Montenegro, near the borders with Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been operating since 1982. The plant was originally planned to comprise two units but the second one was never built. The plant, along with the extensive use of coal and wood for heating, has caused unbearably bad air quality in the town.
Kostolac B power plant (B1, B2), Serbia
The Kostolac B power plant, consisting of 2 units of 350 MW each, first started operating in 1987. In 2023, the plant delivered 4445 GWh of electricity to the grid, nearly 20 per cent of the country’s coal-based generation.
Latest news
Marubeni and Alstom’s corruption records cast new doubts on Croatian coal project, warns new analysis
Press release | 2 October, 2014Zagreb — Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and France’s Alstom – who have together been chosen as the preferred bidding consortium for the Plomin C* coal power plant project in Croatia – have a poor integrity record including several convictions for corruption offences which should raise alarm bells and increase vigilance among the Croatian public and potential financiers of the project, according to a new paper by CEE Bankwatch Network, published today.
Read moreSerbian energy sector needs overhaul
Blog entry | 10 September, 2014The news portal Deutsche Welle has visited the Kolubara lignite mine in Serbia and produced a short clip about the difficulties faced by the Serbian energy sector. Our Serbian colleague Nikola Perusic speaks in the video about the terrible landslide that happened in May 2013.
Read moreEBRD in Serbia: Don’t use floods to prop up coal
Press release | 7 July, 2014The EBRD should stick to its newly approved Energy Strategy and reject any investments in the Serbian coal sector, argue a group of 7 international NGOs in a letter sent to the bank’s board of directors today. The groups were concerned with recent statements by the EBRD according to which the bank’s regional flood response in the Balkans could include “rehabilitation of (…) damaged power stations and transmission and distribution networks.”
Read moreRelated publications
Beyond the scoreboard: Energy sector transformation under the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans
Report | 5 December, 2025 | Download PDFThis analysis offers an overview of the energy-related reforms from Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia and then evaluates the countries’ progress.
A perfect storm: The Western Balkans power sector in the time of CBAM
Report | 29 October, 2025 | Download PDFStarting with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) full implementation in January 2026, most electricity generation companies in the Western Balkans will be heavily affected.
Open Letter to Participants of High-Level Decision-Making Meeting on the 2nd PCI/PMI List
Open letter | 23 October, 2025 | Download PDFIn an open letter ahead of the October 2025 meeting of the EU’s High-Level Decision-Making body on the Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Mutual interest list, Bankwatch and 33 civil society groups warn that the process could be fuelling the EU’s misguided dash for hydrogen, further entrenching dependence on fossil gas and sabotaging Europe’s energy transition.
