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towards climate-friendly alternatives requires massive investments, especially in central and eastern Europe, where outdated infrastructure and a reliance on fossil fuels persists.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
Locals in Upper Nitra, Slovakia agree on the future of their region after coal phaseout
Campaign update | 22 September, 2017One of the positive outcomes of the debate about Europe’s Energy Union was an increased attention to the issue of Just Transition*. Even more promising is that the debate is moving from Brussels to the very regions that are facing an imminent coal phaseout. One of those regions is Horna Nitra /Upper Nitra in Slovakia.
Read moreMaking the coal phase out fair for workers – unions, companies and environmentalists discuss just transition in Romania
Blog entry | 11 April, 2017A Romanian coal mining region is writing history today as representatives from unions, the coal industry and environmental organisations are coming together for the first time to discuss their communities’ future – with a common goal in mind.
Read moreDeceptive promises of new jobs in the coal sector don’t help workers, communities or the climate
Blog entry | 14 November, 2016Now is the time for southeast Europe to start an inclusive and just transition away from lignite, argues new Bankwatch research.
Read moreRelated publications
Planning for social justice in Territorial Just Transition Plans in central and eastern Europe. September 2023 update – part II
Briefing | 28 September, 2023 | Download PDFThis briefing’s main objective is to provide an analysis of how the Territorial Just Transition Plans for seven countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) approach social issues related to the impacts of the transition on women, youth and various other vulnerable groups.
Mapping the road to a just transition in central and eastern Europe: an analysis of Territorial Just Transition Plans in 7 countries. September 2023 update – part I
Briefing | 21 September, 2023 | Download PDFFollowing the brief introduction to the Just Transition Mechanism, this briefing provides an analysis of the approved Territorial Just Transition Plans and identifies what these countries actually intend to do to alleviate the impacts of the transition to carbon neutrality.
Cutting off the pipeline from REPowerEU to the fossil gas industry
Briefing | 27 July, 2023 | Download PDFIn May 2022, the European Commission, in response to the energy crisis, launched the REPowerEU plan – a set of measures aimed at ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027. The plan emphasises the diversification of gas and oil supply sources, the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources by accelerating Europe’s clean energy transition, and the reduction of energy consumption, primarily gas, in the EU. Yet despite its ambitious scope, the plan excessively prioritises the interests of the fossil fuel industry.
