Financing the post-2015 agenda – the problematic role of development banks
Blog entry | 24 September, 2015The heavy involvement of international financial institutions in the post-2015 development agenda raises serious questions for civil society around the world on whether the SDGs will manage to address the root causes of inequality, poverty and environmental degradation.
Read moreGuest post: Italian mayors protest against the Trans Adriatic Pipeline
Blog entry | 22 September, 2015Local opposition in Italy to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is mounting. During a business event organised last week, a dozen mayors staged a protest against the government’s support for the project, who together with civil society and local authorities fear that the pipeline will destroy the environment and the safety of their communities. Instead they are demanding that EU drop the project.
Read moreBankwatch and Counter Balance statement on the adoption of the European Investment Bank Climate Strategy
Press release | 22 September, 2015“As Europe prepares to host the seminal UN climate summit in Paris at year’s end, the EU’s house bank is turning away from its commitment to finance the bloc’s climate action.
Read moreSlovenia and the Energy Union: clash in priorities, renewables as collateral damage
Blog entry | 17 September, 2015A leaked document, published here for the first time, that outlines the Slovenian government’s priorities for the EU’s Energy Union reveals a potential conflict with what the European Commission has on offer. Yet, neither promises ambitious strides towards more renewables.
Read moreImages and graphs: Large-scale agribusiness in Ukraine and local communities
Blog entry | 14 September, 2015Ukraine’s agriculture was the only sector in the country to grow in 2014. International investors are happy to point this out – and the role they are playing in financing these investments. Our investigation, however, shows that cheap Ukrainian food products are coming at the expense of severe impacts on local communities.
Read moreRural communities in Ukraine bearing the brunt of unchecked agribusiness expansion, say two new reports
Press release | 14 September, 2015Residents in Ukraine’s southwest are facing environmental decline, intimidation and deteriorating quality of life as a result of the rapid emergence of Europe’s largest poultry farm, finds a report released today by CEE Bankwatch Network. Owned by Mironivski Hliboproduct (MHP), Ukraine’s biggest poultry producer, the Vinnytsia project has been enjoying hefty support from Europe’s public financial institutes and the World Bank, and plans to double the facility’s size are only likely to exacerbate its social and environmental impacts, shows another report released today by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO).
Read moreSlovakia and the Energy Union: Financing for fossil fuels
Blog entry | 10 September, 2015Similar to what we have seen in other countries, when it comes to concrete projects in Slovakia the Energy Union proposals are so far to a much larger extent aiming at security of (gas) supply than they are at decarbonisation.
Read moreTo mobilise investments for energy efficiency, Commission needs to put money where its mouth is
Blog entry | 26 August, 2015Clear guidance is needed more than public assurances to make the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) be indeed a vehicle for energy efficiency. Counter to public statements, the current set-up does not promise to be effective.
Read moreEnergy Union benefits are full of paradoxes in the land of Kafka
Blog entry | 30 July, 2015More clarity is needed regarding the Energy Union’s priorities for the Czech Republic.
Read moreSlovakian dam project is a warning sign for Juncker’s investment drive
Blog entry | 22 July, 2015The European Parliament will soon be voting on a Scoreboard that will help assess candidate projects to the EUR 21 billion European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). Stringent economic, social and environmental criteria are a paramount need for ensuring investments that contribute to a more sustainable Europe.
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