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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We provide updates in English from the Balkans and other coal regions.
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 2024, the plant delivered 4359 GWh of electricity to the grid, around 14 per cent of the country’s coal-based generation.
Latest news
Death by a thousand transmission lines
Blog entry | 6 August, 2026The EBRD-backed development of the 400/110/35 kV Brezna substation for Montenegro’s transmission grid is opening several crucial questions – where is the red line beyond which a project’s impact on local communities makes it unacceptable? Can this even be assessed when all the institutions and financiers involved fail to identify even the obvious impacts? And why are the project’s backers so reluctant to provide environmental documentation to the affected people?
Read moreBefore the money arrives, the work begins: how Kolašin in Montenegro is preparing for renewable district heating
Blog entry | 4 August, 2026Located below the Bjelasica mountain in northern Montenegro, the town of Kolašin is experiencing a rapid transformation. The expansion of the local ski resort, which attracted around 80,000 visitors during the 2025/2026 winter season, is accelerating tourism growth and new construction. As the town grows, local authorities face a critical challenge – ensuring that new heating infrastructure supports sustainable renewable solutions and avoids locking the town into fossil fuel-based systems for decades.
Read moreUp to a third of EU decarbonisation fund spent on natural gas, report finds
Bankwatch in the media | 4 August, 2026A big chunk of the EU’s flagship industrial decarbonisation fund was spent on fossil fuels and other climate-unfriendly programmes, according to a report published on Wednesday. In the late 2010s, Brussels created the Modernisation Fund to soften the blow of the carbon price paid by European factory and power plant operators under the ‘Emissions Trading System’ (ETS), which is currently over €80 a tonne of CO2.
Read moreRelated publications
Legal opinion on the possible financing scheme of Plomin C and its compatibility with EU rules on state aid and public procurement (public summary)
Briefing | 5 May, 2014 | Download PDFThis legal analysis argues that the tender arrangement for the Plomin C coal-fired power plant seriously questions the feasibility of the entire investment, not just from an environmental point of view as demonstrated by Zelena Akcija beforehand, but by now also from a competition point of view.
Whose Energy Community? Treaty improvements urgently needed
Bankwatch Mail | 20 March, 2014 |The EU-backed Energy Community Treaty, signed in 2005 and comprising the western Balkan countries, Ukraine and Moldova, has been widely hailed as encouraging regional co-operation. It also sets a legislative framework for the signatories (also known as the contracting parties) that should contribute, along with the EU accession process, to addressing the environmental and social impacts of the energy sector. Indeed, examples of the Energy Community’s added value are its adoption of renewable energy targets in October 2012, as well as a requirement for power plants to comply with EU emissions limits.
Slovenia’s shoddy Šoštanj 6 busts the myth of cheap lignite power
Bankwatch Mail | 20 March, 2014 |Bankwatch has been monitoring and campaigning against the ill-conceived EBRD- and EIB-financed Unit 6 at Šoštanj in Slovenia for several years now. Yet the project never ceases to amaze with its myriad flaws and scandals – and the first few months of 2014 have been no exception.
