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towards climate-friendly alternatives requires massive investments, especially in central and eastern Europe, where outdated infrastructure and a reliance on fossil fuels persists.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.
Latest news
New elections in Poland offer one last chance to solve the Oder River catastrophe
Blog entry | 1 December, 2023The Oder River, which forms the border between Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, faced a severe environmental disaster in 2022. More than one year later, the river is in peril again. The decisions taken by the previous government have so far only exacerbated the situation. Now, a new government offers one last opportunity to show environmental stewardship and reverse the catastrophe.
Read moreAmidst the climate crisis, European Commission green-lights new fossil gas projects in Poland and Croatia
Press release | 22 November, 2023Poland and Croatia are set to receive EUR 1.2 billion in EU recovery funds to expand liquefied gas (LNG) terminals and build new pipelines.
Read moreSkopje’s five-year subsidy saga has left residents with uninsulated homes
Blog entry | 20 October, 2023Back in 2018, following a public call by the Centar municipality in Skopje, 26 buildings were approved to receive energy-efficient façades. Yet only one building has been retrofitted in five years, leaving the residents in the other 25 buildings back at square one, disheartened by the whole process and forced to look for other alternatives to insulate their old buildings.
Read moreRelated publications
National energy and climate plans: catalysts for the energy transition or box-ticking exercises?
Report | 30 June, 2023 | Download PDFThe following report shows how seven central and eastern European (CEE) countries are approaching the NECP revision and details how the context has changed since the initial NECPs were prepared in 2018 and 2019.
No recovery without citizens: why public involvement is key to Europe’s green transformation
Report | 20 June, 2023 | Download PDFThe report has been written in the frame of the Citizens Observatory for Green Deal Financing project. It brings together the direct experience of nine different civil society organisations and includes seven individual case studies providing information from the ground.
REPowerEU: a closing window for energy democratisation
Briefing | 9 June, 2023 | Download PDFThis briefing calls on policymakers to strengthen citizen participation in the energy transition through the ongoing revision of the recovery and resilience plans and drafting of the REPowerEU chapters.
