The Polnoc power plant in Poland. A plan for the biggest greenfield coal project in Europe.
Publication | 10 August, 2011At a whopping 2000 MW, the planned Polnoc power plant (Elektrownia Polnoc) in northern Poland would be the largest greenfield coal-fired power plant in Europe. Located in the Pomerania region, which until now has had no coal industry and in recent years has witnessed an unprecedented surge in the wind energy projects, the plant would sit perilously close to three Natura 2000 sites and cool itself with waters from the nearby Vistula river.
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Chercher la femme: gender equality sidelined in international finance
Blog entry | 10 August, 2011Manana Kochladze, Bankwatch’s regional coordinator for the Caucasus and co-author of our new civil society guide Gender and international financial institutions talks about the impacts on women’s lives when big money comes to help “develop” their countries.
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Bypassing responsibility
Blog entry | 8 August, 2011The complaints office at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has agreed to investigate a complaint from Bankwatch that a railway project in Georgia has not been properly assessed. Georgian Bankwatcher Dato Chipashvili thinks the case should be a lesson for the EBRD to make sure that from the start local people have their say in how projects are done.
Read moreBankwatch Mail 8
Publication | 7 August, 2011In this issue: Kyoto in Bonn * Combating poverty in Georgia * Oil revenues for Weapons * Nukes in Ukraine * EIB Info Policy * EBRD – Language Apartheid * PVC ban in Slovakia * Two new World Bank strategies * Yugoslavia Gets USD 1,3 billion
Read moreComments on the draft EBRD country strategy for the Kyrgyz Republic
Publication | 5 August, 2011As the Kyrgyz Republic is an Early Transition Country with limited capacity for additional external borrowing and in light of recent political events in the country, Bankwatch emphasizes that the EBRD must carefully weigh and analyse any project it considers for financing in this particularly vulnerable country.
Read moreInvestment plan for Sostanj lignite power plant TES6 (version 4, unofficial translation)
Publication | 4 August, 2011The new version of the investment programme for a new unit at the Sostanj lignite power plant was prepared by the project promoter after the Slovene government expressed doubts over the economic viability of the investment. All the three previous versions of the document were hidden from the public eye.
Read moreLetter to EBRD: Call to reject Kolubara project based on pressing human rights and climate concerns
Publication | 25 July, 2011Serbian and international civil society organisations call on the EBRD board of directors not to finance the Kolubara lignite mine project since it would constitute the indirect support of human rights violations committed by the project promoter and furthering coal dependency in the Serbian energy sector.
Read moreEBRD Board of Directors must face responsibility for long-term partner EPS’ wrongdoings
Press release | 25 July, 2011Belgrade – Today, over 70 protesters from the Vreoci community is gathering in front of the Belgrade EBRD offices to protest abusive practices by state-owned Elektroprivreda Srbija (EPS), in London, the bank’s Board of Directors is congratulating itself for another profitable deal with the energy company. The EBRD cannot continue to brush off responsibility for corruption acts and human rights abuses committed by their long-term business partner.
Read moreEnergoatom director confirms EBRD money will support nuclear lifespan expansion
Press release | 22 July, 2011The “Ukrainian NPP Safety Upgrade Package Program” currently under consideration for financing by the EBRD, will enable the lifespan expansion of old Soviet-time nuclear reactors, confirmed Gennady Sazonov, project and investment director of the production company Atomproektinzhynirynh, speaking during the first public consultations on the draft ecological assessment of the programme that was held in Kiev early this week.
Read moreEBRD should not condone illegal resettlements and corruption by investing in Kolubara
Press release | 21 July, 2011Belgrade – Next week, the EBRD is deciding whether to invest 80 million Euros in the Kolubara „environmental improvement” project in Serbia. With the help of this money, state-owned Elektroprivreda Srbija (EPS) will expand lignite production in Serbia at the cost of forcefully resettling local communities. CEKOR and CEE Bankwatch Network urge the EBRD to rethink this investment.
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