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
EU climate fund shrinks support for dirty energy
Press release | 4 July, 2025In its largest investment round to date, the EU’’s Modernisation Fund extended support to multiple schemes and projects to advance the energy transition, but damaging projects still get a slice.
Read moreSerbia’s district heating crisis: Gas dependence fuels price volatility
Blog entry | 1 July, 2025Serbia’s district heating sector is facing an unprecedented crisis, driven by an overreliance on imported fossil fuels – particularly fossil gas – and an inability to control energy prices. This dependence puts the sector at a significant risk of collapse in the coming years, threatening the basic heating needs of millions of citizens. It also underscores the urgent need for the Serbian government to diversify the district heating system by integrating sustainable renewable energy sources.
Read moreWestern Balkan governments still complicit in deadly coal pollution – new report
Press release | 17 June, 2025In 2024, Western Balkan governments’ chronic law enforcement failures allowed sulphur dioxide (SO2) pollution from the region’s antiquated coal power plants to exceed legal limits by six times, according to the seventh edition of Bankwatch’s Comply or Close report, published today (1). Dust and nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution from coal plants also continued to exceed legal limits.
Read moreRelated publications
Croatian coal power plans advancing despite legal violations and economic unfeasibility
Bankwatch Mail | 8 October, 2012 |It has been a busy time of late for the planned EUR 800 million, 500 MW Plomin C coal power plant. The Croatian government is pressing ahead with the project under the assumption that it will – along with the equally controversial EBRD-financed Ombla hydropower plant – save Croatia’s ailing economy. Yet it is far from certain who will actually participate in the project, let alone finance it.
Open letter to Serbian president: Protect our property in the Vreoci cemetery
Advocacy letter | 4 October, 2012 | Download PDFThe letter is asking the Serbian government to protect Vreoci community property in the Vreoci cemetery and especially an orthodox chapel that is property of Vreoci citizens.
Letter to DG Environment: Flaws in Environmental Impact Assessment of the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia
Advocacy letter | 25 September, 2012 | Download PDFThe Environmental and Social Impact Asessment (ESIA) for the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia has been delayed for years and comes at a time when the commercial operations are soon to begin. By including only the construction phase of the mine, the impacts of its actual operations are neglected with potentially devastating impacts on water reserves in the Gobi desert – especially because the interrelation of the deep (fossil water) and shallow aquifers that are used by herders has not been thoroughly assessed and is based only on modelling and assumptions with no monitoring data publicly available.
