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towards climate-friendly alternatives requires massive investments, especially in central and eastern Europe, where outdated infrastructure and a reliance on fossil fuels persists.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
Overblown job promises in southeast Europe’s coal sector show the need for a just transition – report
Press release | 14 November, 2016Promises for new jobs in south-east Europe’s coal sector are exaggerated, a new Bankwatch report reveals. Hardly any coal operations across the region are economically viable, and as a result many coal workers, especially in the mines, are set to lose their jobs, even if the plans for countless new power plants materialise. Governments, coal workers and their wider communities need to work together towards a just transition.
Read moreRelated publications
Energy insecurity: EU funds for fossil gas in Poland and Romania contradict climate goals
Report | 6 June, 2023 | Download PDFThis report reveals how much EU public money has been channelled toward the expansion of fossil gas infrastructure in Poland and Romania since 2014 as well as what plans these two countries have for using various EU funding sources to finance additional fossil gas projects in coming years.
Tackling energy poverty in EU Member States
Briefing | 2 June, 2023 | Download PDFThis briefing provides an overview of selected energy poverty measures in five European countries (the Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia) to illustrate different understandings and approaches to tackling energy poverty across Europe.
Selection criteria for energy communities: a practical checklist
Checklist | 31 May, 2023 | Download PDFThis briefing includes a set of practical recommendations for developing successful calls for proposals, including suitable selection criteria that can boost the growth of the community energy movement across central and eastern Europe.
