Corporate interest on way to win over the EU bank’s transparency policy
September 10, 2014 | Read more
In the draft version of its new transparency policy the European Investment Bank is making access to information on its tens of billion euros lending harder than ever.
The future is ash-grey for people in Turceni, Romania
September 9, 2014 | Read more
People in the Submaidane-Turceni area in Romania live their lives in coal ash that still hasn’t been cleaned up after an accident that took place in December 2013 at an ash deposit belonging to the Oltenia Energy Complex in Turceni.
The renewables capacity installed in Romania has grown tenfold in the last five years and constitutes 23 percent of Romania’s installed energy capacity. Still, the government is pushing for new lignite-fired power plants.
Human chain against coal mines crosses Polish-German border
August 25, 2014 | Read more
This weekend, over 7.500 people came together to form a human chain between Poland and Germany, in opposition to the expansion of lignite mines in the border area. The action, which was organised by Greenpeace with help from other NGOs across Germany and Poland, was meant to show solidarity with villagers in the south-west of Poland and south-east of Germany whose homes and livelihoods are to be destroyed if plans to expand coal mines by PGE in Poland and Vattenfal in Germany are to go ahead.
Second fatal landslide in Georgian Dariali valley
August 22, 2014 | Read more
While likely not the cause, the EBRD-financed Dariali hydropower plant is being constructed without proper assessment or mitigation of known geological risks. The construction must be halted to avoid further damage.
Forests sitting on lignite saved in Romania
August 14, 2014 | Read more
Bankwatch and Greenpeace won a court case* in Romania this week, which will effectively prevent 59 hectares (the equivalent of 118 football pitches) of forest from being destroyed by the expansion of one of the open-pit coal mines that supplies Rovinari, one of the largest coal plants in Romania.