In 2020, Montenegro received widespread praise for being the first Western Balkan country to introduce carbon pricing. Less than a year later, however, the scheme’s shortcomings were exposed. What can other Western Balkan countries learn from this experience?
Pouring millions from empty into the void
May 30, 2022 | Read more
EBRD and EIB investments in Bulgarian hydropower have once again been hit by scandal with the recent failure of the Chaira pumped storage plant and revelations about the illegality of small hydropower plants. The planned Yadenitsa dam would be more of the same: will the EBRD and EIB be wise enough to say no?
The Czech state-owned insurance company EGAP has secured a loan of CZK 2 billion from state COVID aid for Liberty Ostrava that is closely connected to Greensil, a company plagued by a corruption scandal.
Over a third of Romania’s population is affected by energy poverty, but this can change with an integrated approach and targeted support.
In the Western Balkans, heating based on fossil fuels is making air pollution worse and is also the source of half of greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable and affordable heating systems based on renewables are no fantasy. They operate successfully in other parts of Europe, and can be implemented in the Western Balkans if decision makers start acting now.
After one year of negotiations, at the beginning of April, the European Commission finally endorsed the sixth and final version of Bulgaria’s recovery plan. According to the Commission, nearly 60 per cent of the projects included in the plan support the green transition of the country, which is the highest percentage among all the recovery plans approved so far.
