Europe has ambitions to become a global leader in the fight against climate breakdown. Transforming the continent’s energy systems and shifting towards climate-friendly alternatives requires massive investments, especially in central and eastern Europe, where outdated infrastructure and a reliance on fossil fuels persists.
The good news is that the EU has the financial means to fund this transformation. The challenge is ensuring that the investments of today are geared towards addressing the climate crisis and Europe’s declining state of nature.
We know that when people have a voice in investment decisions, the results speak for themselves: more acceptance and ownership of spending and a greater chance that harmful and wasteful projects are avoided.
We work to ensure that EU financial flows address the climate crisis and do no harm to people and nature. We do this by involving the public in the design and spending of EU investments.
IN FOCUS
Just transition
Countries across central and eastern Europe are committing to quit coal and shale oil. Now the task is to ensure that the just transition is driven from the bottom up and leaves no one behind as we move towards a sustainable energy future.
Building back biodiversity
Threats facing biodiversity are increasing alongside the drivers of the climate crisis. But investments in climate protection should not come at the expense of those that can help biodiversity. The two crises of climate and biodiversity are interconnected and both must be tackled together, because only by investing in nature can we tackle climate change.
RegENERate: Mobilising Regions for Energetic Re-development and Transformative NECPs
The overall objective of the project is to support the CEE countries’ contribution to the EU efforts towards a net-zero emissions future. The project will contribute to more ambitious and effective climate and energy policies in CEE, backed by a long-term commitment to phase out fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency and promote renewable energy.
RePower the Regions: Ambitious and inclusive clean energy plans for repowering the just transition regions
The participation and leadership of carbon-intensive regions in transitioning to clean energy solutions are prerequisites for achieving EU climate neutrality by 2050. Building on this premise, RePower the Regions aims to ensure that the regions’ clean energy plans are aligned with EU 2030 climate goals and have strong support locally, and to provide practical guidelines and roadmaps on how to repower the regions.
Latest news
What’s holding back community energy in Estonia’s just transition region?
Blog entry | 5 March, 2025Community energy and energy cooperatives in Estonia are still in the early stages of development, but interest in the field is growing steadily. In recent years, several small cooperatives have been established, with some communities taking the initiative to develop solar and wind energy projects. However, in the county of Ida–Viru, the heart of Estonia’s just transition, there are no fully functioning renewable energy cooperatives to inspire and mobilise local communities.
Read moreGreening the EU budget: why climate mainstreaming needs reform
Bankwatch in the media | 26 February, 2025CEE Bankwatch Network (2024) analysed the practical implementation of the DNSH principle in the RRF using six case studies. In some cases, the simplified procedure relied solely on uncritically accepting the countries’ declarations.
Read moreGuidelines for selecting just transition projects in Ukraine
Blog entry | 20 February, 2025Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine remains steadfast in its commitment to a just transition. As an EU accession candidate, Ukraine must integrate the Just Transition Mechanism’s principles and criteria into its national policies. Since Ukraine plans to join the EU before its coal phase-out in 2035, the Just Transition Fund regulation provides the most relevant framework for meeting these requirements.
Read moreRelated publications
Assessment of Romania’s operational programmes
Briefing | 14 July, 2022 | Download PDFThis briefing offers an analysis of the Romania’s draft operational programmes for 2021-2027 and recommendations regarding the potential for increasing the programmes’ climate and environmental contributions.
How can we assist you? What kinds of technical assistance do Just Transition regions actually need?
Briefing | 1 July, 2022 | Download PDFThis briefing was issued by the Europe Beyond Coal campaign in July 2022.
Behind the ‘green recovery’: How the EU recovery fund is failing to protect nature and what can still be saved
Report | 2 June, 2022 | Download PDFThis report prepared by CEE Bankwatch Network and EuroNatur, shines a spotlight on the implementation of recovery funds, and reveals a series of harmful reforms and investments for biodiversity set to be financed in nine central and eastern European Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia).
