A well-designed national energy efficiency fund in North Macedonia will enable long-term energy savings in the residential and public sectors
December 20, 2024
Establishing national energy efficiency funds is one of the best mechanisms to increase investments in energy efficiency across all sectors.
EU’s Modernisation Fund continues to fund fossil fuels and waste incineration projects, undermining climate and environmental goals
December 20, 2024
The European Commission yesterday announced the disbursement of EUR 2.7 billion from the EU Modernisation Fund to support 39 investment projects across eight Member States. However, CEE Bankwatch Network’s analysis shows that a significant portion of this funding is being disbursed to projects that contradict the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2030.
Bosnia and Herzegovina southern gas interconnector: ‘Why gas at all?’ should be the key question
December 18, 2024
The long-running controversy about the planned southern gas interconnector between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has dramatically reignited this month. After fervent lobbying by the US Ambassador to BiH, a special law on the project was adopted by the first of two houses of the Federation of BiH entity parliament on 12 December. But political controversies have monopolized the debate, with hardly a word on its energy, economic or climate implications.
Heating the heights: Žabljak’s bold move towards sustainable warmth
December 11, 2024
Perched 1,456 metres above sea level in the Durmitor National Park in Montenegro, Žabljak, the highest urban settlement in the Western Balkans, is looking for new heating solutions. A 2020 pre-feasibility suggested biomass, but determined to avoid air pollution and deforestation, the local authorities set out to find a better way forward.
The European Commission’s proposed Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova
December 4, 2024
This briefing uses the experience from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Western Balkans Reform and Growth Facility approved earlier this year to propose improvements in the Commission’s proposed Regulation.
Closing the door on waste incineration for district heating in central and eastern Europe
December 2, 2024
This issue paper underlines that Member States and public financing should align with EU principles and avoid investments that lock them into unsustainable practices like waste incineration.
Hydrogen’s empty promises: How Hungary, Poland and Romania are betting on false solutions
November 20, 2024
Despite the EU’s seemingly unending enthusiasm for hydrogen as a decarbonisation tool, there’s increasing concern over the risks of investing in unproven, inefficient or ineffective production methods and applications.
While the EBRD shows off its green credentials at COP29, its North Macedonia gas pipeline loan still brings more questions than answers
November 19, 2024
The EBRD has made significant investments in solar, wind and energy efficiency in recent years. But these have been undermined by its continued support for fossil fuels. This April, a EUR 98 million loan for the Greece to North Macedonia pipeline was approved, despite major leaks in the Bank’s rationale for supporting it. Recent delays have further exposed the flawed assumptions behind the project, as our new briefing shows.
Greece – North Macedonia gas interconnector update
November 19, 2024
This briefing takes an updated look at the Greece – North Macedonia gas interconnector project and concludes that the arguments in favour of the project are still not supported by convincing evidence and that the claimed benefits are highly unlikely to materialise.
Romania’s gas-fuelled climate plan lacks green ambition
November 7, 2024
After missing the legal deadline of 30 June 2024 by four months, Romania has finally submitted its national energy and climate plan (NECP) to the European Commission. However, despite the delay, several critical issues remain unresolved from the draft plan submitted in December 2023.
