Ukraine snubs safety concerns and European donors, extends lifetime of fourth Soviet-era nuclear reactor
Press release | 8 December, 2015Kiev, Prague – An ageing nuclear unit in the South Ukraine power plant is the latest to have its expiry date rewritten by overzealous Ukrainian authorities, despite a number of pending safety issues and concerns over compliance with international treaties.
Read moreMacedonia urged to suspend controversial hydropower project
Press release | 4 December, 2015Strasbourg, Skopje, Prague – In the latest blow to planned hydropower dam in Macedonia’s Mavrovo National Park, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention, the European wildlife treaty, added today its voice to growing calls to reconsider this reckless project. The spotlight is now on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the project’s main financier.
Read moreBankwatch statement on hazardous arsenic waste in Dundee operations in Namibia
Press release | 1 December, 2015Last week Namibian news outlets reported on Bankwatch’s findings on the potential impacts of Dundee Precious Metals’ (DPM) operations in the country. Yet, in light of the company’s response we believe a number of points need to be stressed.
Read moreBern Convention Committee to decide fate of Balkan lynx and Boskov Most hydropower plant in Macedonia
Blog entry | 30 November, 2015The critically endangered population of the Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus) may be getting a new lease on life this week after being threatened by planned hydropower constructions in its core area of reproduction.
Read moreExporting toxic pollution from Europe to Namibia
Blog entry | 19 November, 2015The case of the Tsumeb smelter in Namibia demonstrates how European pollution is exported to the Global South with indirect help of public development money.
Read moreThe EBRD: Fueling the future, or stuck in the past?
Blog entry | 19 November, 2015A closer look at the projects that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has financed in the energy sector in Middle East and North African countries reveals that, despite the bank’s rhetoric about promoting sustainable energy, its balance sheet has fossil fuels all over it.
Read moreThe energy dissonance: How EU development funds fuel climate change while leaders talk decarbonisation
Press release | 17 November, 2015EU leaders repeatedly voice commitments to spearhead the global effort to tackle climate change, primarily through long-term decarbonisation targets. But a Bankwatch research into the EU’s development funds for neighbouring regions finds that considerably more European taxpayer money is supporting fossil fuels than facilitating a sustainable energy transition.
Read moreUkrainian court backs state attempt to stifle public debate on ageing nuclear fleet
Press release | 29 October, 2015Kiev – Today a Kiev court ruled in favour of a defamation lawsuit brought by the Ukrainian state against a civil society organisation, thus backing the government’s attempts to suppress public debate on the country’s ageing nuclear fleet.
Read moreEBRD policy breaches at Serbia coal mine confirmed by bank’s own complaint mechanism
Press release | 29 October, 2015Prague, Belgrade – A day after the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a new EUR 200 million loan for Serbia’s electric utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), an internal review at the Bank finds that it breached its own environmental and social policy when approving the previous EUR 80 million loan to the same company.
Read more[Campaign update] MEP Rebecca Harms criticises Ukrainian nuclear operator for its lawsuit against activists
Blog entry | 21 October, 2015Nuclear safety activists in Ukraine who face defamation charges by the state nuclear operator Energoatom received support from Rebecca Harms, a member of the European Parliament, recently.
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