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Southeast Europe must close the gap on energy efficiency, says new report


Countries of Southeast Europe (SEE) waste much more energy than the members of the European Union, according to a new report Energy Efficiency – Just Do It! published today by a group of civil society organizations from across the region.[1]

The report is available at:
https://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/Energy-Efficiency-Just-Do-It.pdf

Published in the final stage of adopting the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) in the region, through the Energy Community framework[2], the report emphasizes why the adoption of the EED is crucial for the countries of the region. Energy Community data shows that the most inefficient sector, buildings, could use from 20% to 40% less energy, if appropriate energy efficiency measures were implemented.[3] Furthermore, over 500 million EUR provided by international development organizations remain unused, “due to the lack of appropriate delivery mechanisms to link the local energy efficiency projects with the available financing.” [4]

Most of the SEE countries lag behind in meeting their current, non-binding target of 9% energy savings by 2018, which has been prescribed by the Energy Community framework. The adoption of the EED, scheduled for mid-October, with its set of binding measures to achieve a target of 20% savings by 2020 could be a game changer in the region. That is, as long as the countries make sincere efforts to implement it.

Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the Energy Union, provided the foreword of the report and encourages South East Europe to reinforce its efforts on energy efficiency. “Energy efficiency is one of the key dimensions of the Energy Union. We need to fundamentally rethink energy efficiency and treat it as an energy source in its own right. The better use of energy while fighting climate change is both a spur for new jobs and growth and an investment in our collective future”, states Šefčovič.

“The biggest barrier to energy efficiency is the total lack of political will to improve it amongst some of our elected representatives. It is disturbing when you compare how much is invested in coal that pollutes the air and contributes to climate change, and how much is being spent on energy efficiency that gives us warmer houses, local jobs and cleaner environment”, said Garret Tankosić-Kelly, principal of SEE Change Net.

“A balanced approach to energy policy that includes reducing unnecessary demand through energy efficiency improvements will bring vast benefits to SEE economies”, says Rod Janssen, the lead author of the report. “By creating the necessary policy framework for energy efficiency, the SEE countries can decrease individual energy costs and energy poverty, make businesses more efficient and reduce energy imports.”

“The people of the Southeast Europe deserve to have the same living standards when it comes to energy efficiency as those in the EU” – says Dragana Mileusnić, energy policy coordinator for South East Europe at Climate Action Network Europe. “The EU needs to push for a full adoption of the EED in the Balkans, as a crucial step in the reform of the Energy Community. With the Paris climate summit on the horizon, the EU has a duty to encourage its neighbours to step up their efforts to save energy and thus protect the climate.”

For more information, contact:

Ania Drazkiewicz
CAN Europe Communications Coordinator
ania@caneurope.org
+32 494 525 738

Dragana Mileusnić
CAN Europe Energy Policy Coordinator for South East Europe
dragana@caneurope.org
+32 2 894 46 82

Masha Durkalić
SEE Change Net Communication Officer
masha@seechangenet.org
+ 387 33 213 716

Notes for the editor

1. The South East Europe Sustainable Energy Policy (SEE SEP) is a programme that has 18 CSO partners from across the region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo**, Macedonia*, Montenegro and Serbia) and the EU. The SEE SEP project aims to empower CSOs and citizens to better influence policy and practice towards a fairer, cleaner and safer energy future in SEE.

SEE SEP partner organisations are: SEE Change Net, Analytica (Macedonia*), ATRC (Kosovo**), CEKOR (Serbia), CPI (Bosnia and Herzegovina), CZZS (Bosnia and Herzegovina), DOOR (Croatia), EDEN (Albania), Ekolevizja (Albania), Eko-Svest (Macedonia*), Forum for Freedom in Education (Croatia), Fractal (Serbia), Front 21/42 (Macedonia*), Green Home (Montenegro), MANS (Montenegro), WWF Adria
CEE Bankwatch, Climate Action Network Europe

* According to the UN, the official name for Macedonia is “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.
** This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

2. The Energy Community brings together Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo**, Macedonia*, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine – and soon also Georgia – with the goal of creating a common energy market between the EU and some of its neighbours. It also aims to extend the EU internal energy policy to south east Europe and the Black Sea region. This includes the obligation for member countries to implement EU environmental law and renewable energy targets.

3. The Energy Community Secretariat estimates that potential improvements are: Transport: 10%; Household sector: 10 – 35%; Public: 35 – 40%; Service sector: 10 – 30%; Industrial and commercial: 5 – 25%. They estimate that the potential yield (public buildings and private households): 805 million EUR in energy savings by 2020. ECS, Energy Community – Tapping on its Energy Efficiency Potential, 1 June 2015, p. 12.

4. Energy Community Secretariat, Energy Community – Tapping on its Energy Efficiency Potential, 1 June 2015, p. 20.

Bankwatch and Counter Balance statement on the adoption of the European Investment Bank Climate Strategy

“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.

“In a meeting today (September 22) the European Investment Bank (EIB) voted to adopt a new Climate Strategy to guide the compliance of its investments with the EU’s climate targets for the next fifteen years. But while the strategy has commendable guidelines, it lacks clear implementation timelines, action plans or measureable objectives that would ensure investments in energy and infrastructure projects are in line with Europe’s goal of a transition to a low-carbon economy.

“Above all, the new strategy offers no commitment to scale up financing to support the EU’s climate and energy targets, specifically for boosting energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy sources.

“At the same time, rather than restricting its financing for fossil fuels, the bank has recently announced a possible EUR 2 billion loan to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of the Southern Gas Corridor meant to import even more gas, from the repressive regime in Azerbaijan.

“The EIB is meant to support Europe’s transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient economy. But the climate strategy adopted by the board falls far short of this objective, and therefore seriously undermines the credibility of the EU’s climate and energy commitments.

“Bankwatch, Counter Balance and other civil society organisations have repeatedly (pdf) called on the EIB to ensure that its new Climate Strategy accounts for a number of key issues: a thorough review and upgrade of the bank’s Emissions Performance Standard in order to limit carbon emissions; an explicit commitment to the EU’s principle of ‘energy efficiency first’; and an increased climate action target for mobilising the necessary resources both to meet the international goal of capping global temperature rise at two degrees and to make the EU more resilient to a changing climate.”

For more information please contact:

Anna Roggenbuck
EIB campaign Co-ordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network
annar@bankwatch.org
+48 509970424

Xavier Sol
Director Counter Balance
xavier.sol@counter-balance.org
+32 2 893 08 61

Rural communities in Ukraine bearing the brunt of unchecked agribusiness expansion, say two new reports

Residents 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).

Bankwatch’s report “Black Earth: Agribusiness in Ukraine and the Marginalisation of Rural Communities” can be found here:
https://bankwatch.org/publications/black-earth

SOMO’s report “Chicken Run: The Business Strategies and Adverse Impacts of Poultry Producer MHP in Ukraine” can be found here:

Publication_4228

A blog post with high-resolution images and details on the amount of public finance and beneficiaries in Ukraine’s agricultural sector can be found here:
https://bankwatch.org/news-media/blog/images-and-graphs-large-scale-agribusiness-ukraine-and-local-communities

A fact finding mission, comprised of members of Ukrainian and international civil society organisations, visited the site and met with over 100 local residents in May 2015. They heard a large number of accounts of people being aggressively pressured by MHP representatives to lease their lands to the company to allow the expansion of the poultry production facility.

The civil society delegation was also able to document strong foul smell from chicken rearing houses and manure heaps in the fields surrounding the Vinnytsia complex as well as other poultry production waste. In addition, the mission was also shown the effects of increased truck traffic through the villages on local roads and buildings. These and other findings are brought in detail in Bankwatch’s report.

MHP has so far received over EUR 500 million in loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and primarily from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).

This financial support, part of which was used for the construction of the Vinnytsia complex, has obliged MHP to implement a number of safety and environmental standards, and the company claims it complies with Ukrainian law and follows best international practices.

But local residents’ testimonies show that the social and environmental impacts are insufficiently mitigated, in spite of these claims. Not only did the company avoid consultations with the communities, but it has also never disclosed information that could address their concerns, despite repeated requests. As a result, MHP’s unwillingness to directly engaged with concerned residents has naturally bred mistrust.

SOMO’s analysis finds that a major cause of the adverse impacts experienced by the local communities is the poultry farm’s rapid expansion. Already in 2014, the first year of its operations, the Vinnytsia poultry farm produced 205,000 tonnes of poultry, according to MHP reports. A second phase of the facility, slated to begin late this year and be completed by 2018, will see the company producing 900,000 tonnes of poultry, much of it intended for export.

Moreover, mitigation of the effects on the environment and the local communities is hampered by MHP’s continued refusal to disclose relevant information and offer an orderly redress mechanism. In addition, in effect since 2014, the Ukrainian government’s moratorium on inspections means that violations of public health and environmental laws could remain undetected and not addressed.

“The approach of both the EU and the investment banks towards Ukraine’s economic development serves a different interest than that of the local communities,” says Tim Steinweg, senior researcher with SOMO. “The case of MHP shows that there are limits to the expansion of industrialized farms before they interfere with the livelihoods of local communities.”

“Financial institutions who see MHP as an important contributor to the country’s economic recovery and Ukraine as a key player in the global food supply must prioritise transparency, accountability and participation of the local communities, not their exclusion and concentration of control over land in the hands of the few,” says Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, EBRD Co-ordinator at CEE Bankwatch Network.

For more information contact:

Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath
EBRD Campaign Co-ordinator
fidankab@bankwatch.org
Tel.: +359 877 303097
Skype: fidanka_b
Twitter: @fidankabmg

Tim Steinweg
Senior Researcher, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations
T.Steinweg@somo.nl
Tel.: +31 206391291
Twitter: @TSteinweg

Olexi Pasyuk
National Ecological Centre of Ukraine
opasyuk@bankwatch.org
Tel. +38 0505711684
Twitter: @opasyuk

Russian environmental organisation forced to choose between ‘foreign agent’ label and shutdown

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia – Sakhalin Environment Watch (SEW), Bankwatch member group in Russia’s far east, has been ordered by the Russian authorities to register itself as a ‘foreign agent’. The group rejects claims it is engaged in any political activity, and intends to contest the decision. If the decision is not repealed, the group will consider shutting down.

Introduced in 2012, the restrictive ‘foreign agent’ law has been roundly criticised for the way in which it intrudes on and hinders the activities of independent civil society organisations. In the case of Sakhalin Environmental Watch, the classification would tarnish its impeccable reputation of two decades and limit its ability to engage with decision-makers, the media and the general public.

The decision comes as a result of an unscheduled two weeks long inspection in late August by officers from the Ministry of Justice of the Sakhalin Province, the fourth such inspection in two years.

The inspection report received by SEW on Wednesday (September 9) says it found no indications of extremism in the group’s activities, the decisions of its governing bodies are competent, and the organisation’s operations are in line with its statutory objectives.

Yet, the Ministry of Justice report says the inspection found “a focus on the formation of public opinion in order to influence the decisions of government authorities, an intention directed at a public reaction and attracting the attention of the government authorities of the Sakhalin Province.”

As evidence the report cites a link to a WWF Russia statement on the need to protect the Arctic posted to SEW’s unofficial account on Russian social media website Vkontakte, a signature of SEW’s director on a letter of support from Russian environmentalists to their Ukrainian peers sent during the Euromaidan protests, as well as a May 2015 article by the organisation’s director on the need for parks and for stopping the construction of new buildings at the expense of greenery in the crowded city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

These findings, the inspectors opined, indicate SEW’s engagement in political activity, and since the organisation is partially funded by international charities, it should have applied to register itself in the “registry of noncommercial organisations performing the functions of a foreign agent”.

According to 2012 amendments to the federal law on non-commercial organisations, local nonprofits that engage in so-called political activity and receive funding from abroad are to be classified as ‘foreign agents’. In fact, while the term “political activity” is defined rather vaguely in the law, the protection of flora and fauna has been explicitly excluded from this definition by an April 2014 ruling of Russia’s Constitutional Court. So far, 91 non-governmental organisations have been put on this list, most of them are now trying to legally challenge this status.

“SEW cannot operate under the label of ‘foreign agent, because it never was a foreign agent, and cannot accept being labeled as something it is not,” says Dmitry Lisitsyn, the director of Sakhalin Environment Watch and a 2011 Goldman Environmental Prize laureate. “SEW has protected the environment of Sakhalin and its citizens’ environmental rights for 20 years. We have much to be proud of. We have never engaged in politics. We do not support any political party and do not participate in the elections ourselves, nor do we engage in any political struggle. Appeals to the authorities and publications on environmental topics— this is our constitutional right and one method of protecting the environment.”

A longtime member of CEE Bankwatch Network and an environmental champion, SEW is intent to have this decision reversed and will legally challenge it. However, if these efforts are unsuccessful the organisation will convene a general assembly to consider its dissolution.

For more information contact:

Dmitry Lisitsyn
Director, Sakhalin Environment Watch
sakhalinwatch@gmail.com
Tel. +7(4242) 46-14-16, +7 924 190 1022
http://www.ecosakh.ru
https://www.facebook.com/ecosakh

Crédit Agricole violating own coal policies with new Croatian power plant support – new report

French bank Crédit Agricole’s support for a proposed major new coal plant project in Croatia is inconsistent with the bank’s climate ambitions and its own sector policy on coal-fired power plants, according to a new study released today. The analysis, by Friends of the Earth France and Croatia, Zelena Istra, CEE Bankwatch Network and BankTrack, screens the risks of the 500 megawatt Plomin C project proposed for development in the picturesque Istrian peninsula, a popular international tourist destination.

The report, “Plomin C power plant project – compliance study of the project with Crédit Agricole’s policies on coal-fired power plants and coal mining” can be downloaded from: https://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/PlominC_Compliancestudy_Sept2015.pdf

Less than three months before the United Nations climate summit in Paris, and with Crédit Agricole presenting itself as taking a responsible stance on climate change, Croatian and international groups are launching a campaign with actions held today in Paris and Zagreb aimed at ending Crédit Agricole’s role as financial advisor in the estimated EUR 800 million Plomin C project.

Pippa Gallop, Research Co-ordinator at CEE Bankwatch Network, said: “The Plomin C project, if it proceeds, would violate both local and European laws and regulations. The coal plant lacks an alternative assessment, the project promoters have failed to address relevant climate and energy dependence issues, not to mention the coal plant’s very real economic risks. After assessing all the potential impacts of the project, our study finds that by supporting this project Crédit Agricole is violating the principles which it claims to its customers and shareholders to be upholding.”

Crédit Agricole announced in May this year that it is ending its funding for coal mine projects and companies specialised in the sector “in order to cut down on the use of fossil fuels and meet the objective of limiting global warning to 2°C by the end of the twenty-first century“. [1]

However, the campaign groups believe that this welcome move from the bank is being compromised by its ongoing support for coal plants. Crédit Agricole, the only international bank currently supporting the construction of the Plomin C coal plant project, provided more than EUR 4.7 billion in financing for the coal power sector over the last ten years, making it one of the top 20 climate-damaging banks worldwide. [2]

Lucie Pinson, private finance campaigner for Friends of the Earth France, commented: “The termination of Crédit Agricole’s support for coal mines is a healthy first step towards a total exit from fossil fuels. But the bank seems not to have fully grasped the unequivocal point being advanced by scientists. If we are to leave more than 80% of the world’s coal reserves in the ground to limit global warming below the 2°C threshold, then we simply cannot afford to carry on building new coal power plants that will emit millions of tonnes of CO2 for decades to come. [3]

“Crédit Agricole must immediately withdraw from Plomin C if it is sincere in its claims about wanting to fight climate change. As long as it maintains its support for this project led by notorious polluters Alstom and Marubeni, Crédit Agricole will continue to be responsible for worsening climate change.”

A referendum in March 2015 found that 94% of the Istrian population were against Plomin C. The project is currently the subject of several court cases.

Bernard Ivčić, director of Zelena Akcija/Friends of the Earth Croatia, commented: “Croatia hasn’t produced coal for years, so this project will do nothing for the country’s energy security or for raising living standards. In fact, the project may lead to increased electricity prices, causing a double burden for the population already suffering the severe impacts of air pollution. If the 500 megawatt Plomin C coal plant is realised, studies project that it will cause the premature deaths of 680 people.”

During actions taking place today in Paris, Zagreb and on social networks, the groups will call on Crédit Agricole to immediately withdraw from the Plomin C project. In Paris, the Young Friends of the Earth have organised a press conference within the premises of a Crédit Agricole bank warning of the health impacts of the project, with photos of the people who will be affected if Plomin C goes ahead. In Zagreb, activists from Zelena Istra, Friends of the Earth Croatia and Greenpeace are gathering in front of the French embassy in order to call on France’s public and private bodies to stop all support to fossil fuels.

For more information contact:

Lucie Pinson
Private Finance Campaigner, Friends of the Earth France
lucie.pinson@amisdelaterre.org
Tel: +33 9 72 43 92 62

Yann Louvel
Climate and Energy Campaign Coordinator, BankTrack
yann@banktrack.org
Tel: +33 06 88 90 78 68

Bernard Ivčić
Director, Friends of the Earth Croatia
bernard@zelena-akcija.hr
Tel: +385 99 314 9138

Pippa Gallop
Research Co-ordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network
pippa.gallop@bankwatch.org
Tel: +385 997 559 78

Notes to editors

[1] Credit Agricole: Sector Policies: http://www.ca-cib.com/group-overview/csr-sector-policies.htm

[2] Crédit Agricole is advising the Japanese company Marubeni leading the construction of Plomin C, which will purchase the required equipment from Alstom. Crédit Agricole is the lead finance arranger for the project and is responsible for project relevant studies (including economic and environmental) prior to project fundraising. To find out more about the Plomin C project, see the Bankwatch Profile (English) or the Friends of the Earth Profile (French).

Information on Crédit Agricole’s coal financing in the period 2005 to April 2014 is available on BankTrack’s CoalBanks website: http://coalbanks.org/bank#credit_agricole

[3] See, for example, recent comments by Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the OECD, on coal power plants available here: https://www.oecd.org/environment/climate-what-has-changed-what-has-not-and-what-we-can-do-about-it.htm

Investigation launched into Mongolian iron ore mine financed by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for impacts on local communities

Updated September 10, 2015*

Amsterdam/Ulaanbaatar/Prague – Last week, the independent accountability mechanism of the EBRD announced it will investigate *the Bank’s compliance with its environmental and social standards at a mine it finances and is operated by Altain Khuder in the Gobi-Altai region of Mongolia. The investigation comes in response to a complaint filed to the EBRD’s Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) in December 2014 from herders affected by the project.

Press release by Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), CEE Bankwatch Network & OT Watch

The herders had also requested that the PCM convene a dialogue with the company to address issues of displacement and dust pollution, but the PCM rejected that request. In response to the PCM’s determination, documented in its Eligibility Assessment Report which was published on 28 August, Amibukh, one of the complainants, expressed, “Although we hoped that the PCM could get the company to finally listen to all our concerns, we are not surprised that the company is not cooperating. They have been unresponsive to all our attempts to resolve the issues so far. It’s disappointing, but at the same time we are pleased that there will be an investigation. We invite the PCM to come visit us in Tseel soum and assess the impact of the mine on our lives”.

Mining in Mongolia

Background, updates, publications

The Eligibility Assessment Report reveals the deteriorating relationship between the EBRD and Altain Khuder. As a result, the EBRD has not received any information from the company regarding environmental and social issues since mid-2013, making it impossible for the Bank to fulfill its obligation to monitor the implementation the agreed action plans. The PCM found that the deteriorating relationship was also, in part, the reason for rejecting the complainants’ request to convene a dialogue between the parties, stating that “the PCM would not be viewed as a suitable forum for dialogue between the Complainants and the Client.” It also cited the lack of cooperation of the EBRD’s client, “the Complainants continue to assert that the Client refuses to engage with them, [and is] in some cases purportedly pursuing legal action against them.”

“We are very disappointed by the PCM’s reasoning for finding the problem solving request not eligible. The fact that Altain Khuder refuses to engage with the herders is exactly why we requested the problem-solving process in the first place,” says Anne Schuit, researcher at the Amsterdam-based Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO). “Nevertheless, we hope the compliance review will provide clear recommendations for improvements to the project that will result in meaningful improvements for the lives and livelihoods of the herders.”

Sukhgerel Dugersuren, director at OT Watch, states “It is unacceptable that a company financed by the EBRD can cause unmitigated environmental and social impacts, refuse to engage with the Bank or the PCM, and get away with it. It is the EBRD’s responsibility to ensure that its borrowers comply with its standards and do not further impoverish the communities where they work. We hope that the compliance review will help resolve these issues for the relocated local community members after all.”

The complaint, filed by seven individuals in December 2014, alleges that the mine displaced herders and left them without a suitable alternative resettlement site. As a result they are unable to sustain their livelihoods. In addition, dust pollution as a result of the export of iron ore from the mine to China allegedly causes illnesses to herders and their animals. Herders have brought these impacts to the attention of the company on numerous occasions but rather than solving the problems the company has reacted with intimidation and legal action.

“At the start of the mining boom in Mongolia, Bankwatch warned the EBRD that it would be unsustainable to make Mongolia dependent on mining exports. With slowing demand from China, the Altain Khuder case demonstrates that communities are paying the price for the EBRD’s short-sightedness and are left without redress,” says Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, EBRD campaign coordinator at CEE Bankwatch Network.

For the investigation, the PCM will assess the EBRD’s compliance with its own environmental and social standards in relation to its investment in Altain Khuder. The Eligibility Assessment Report includes a Terms of Reference for the investigation and identifies the PCM expert responsible for it. The Terms of Reference also provides for the possibility of a site visit to Mongolia. According to *the Terms of Reference, the review is intended to be completed in 60 business days, unless further time is needed.

* This press release has been ammended at the request of the PCM

Notes for the editor

1. For the complaint, see http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism/pcm-register.html

2. For a report on a fact finding mission to the Tayan Nuur mining area in Mongolia, see
https://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/when-dust-settles-AltainKhuder.pdf

3. For a multimedia story, see http://stories.bankwatch.org/when-dust-settles

4. For a case study on Altain Khuder and the mining project, see

Publication_4158

5. For other press releases regarding this case, see http://grievancemechanisms.org/news/complaint-by-mongolian-herders-about-iron-ore-mining-company-accepted-by-european-development-bank