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China urged to pursue renewable energy investments, not coal, during summit with eastern European leaders


Bucharest — As the China – Central and Eastern European Countries summit gets underway today in Bucharest, NGOs from across the CEE region* have written to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang calling on him to support renewable energy and energy efficiency investments, instead of the series of coal projects currently planned across eastern and south-east Europe.

Coal projects in the region potentially involving Chinese companies and banks include Ugljevik III and Tuzla 7 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pljevlja II in Montenegro, Rovinari in Romania, Kostolac B3 in Serbia and a series of projects in Ukraine to convert gas power stations to coal.

“The coal sector has already caused significant harm to people’s health and the environment in the region, as well as contributing heavily to climate change. In Serbia alone, air pollution from coal is estimated to cause 2100 premature deaths annually, while in Poland the figure is 3500”, write the NGOs in their letter to Premier Li Keqiang.

“Given that many of the planned investments by Chinese companies in our region are in the energy sector, we are urging the Chinese authorities to consider the need for our countries to phase out the use of fossil fuels and concentrate on a transformation to an energy-efficient economy, based on environmentally sustainable forms of renewable energy,” they conclude.

The new planned power stations would prevent the countries from reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the EU’s long-term climate goals and from complying with EU pollution standards. They will also come with significant health costs, including premature deaths. [1]

Information available so far on the offers submitted for the Pljevlja II lignite power plant in Montenegro and the Kostolac B3 plant in Serbia suggest that pollution levels will exceed the levels allowed by the EU Industrial Emissions Directive [2].

Such plants would also not be allowed to be constructed today in China, according to the world-class standards introduced in China as of the beginning of 2012. [3]

Such concerns are supported by the fact that the Stanari lignite power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently under construction by China’s Dongfang and financed by the China Development Bank, was last week revealed to be allowed to emit between 2 and 10 times as much as EU pollution legislation permits. [4]

Contacts

Pippa Gallop, CEE Bankwatch Network
pippa.gallop at bankwatch.org
+385 99 755 9787

*The list of NGOs includes:

CEE Bankwatch Network
Center for Environment, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Center for Ecology and Energy, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Green Home, Montenegro
Center for Ecology and Sustainable Development, Serbia
National Ecological Center of Ukraine
Bankwatch Romania

Notes for editors

Read the letter sent by NGOs here:
https://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/Regional-letter-ChinaPM-25Nov2013.pdf

[1] For more details, see HEAL: The Unpaid Health Bill: How coal power plants make us sick, 2013,
http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/heal_report_the_unpaid_health_bill_how_coal_power_plants_make_us_sick_final.pdf

Almost all of the countries in the region are either in the EU already or aspire to join. The EU has policy goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% and to almost completely decarbonise the energy sector by 2050. See:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy2020/roadmap/index_en.htm and http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/roadmap/

[2] For more details on initial offers submitted for Pljevlja II, please see Risks for the Pljevlja II project due to inadequate environmental standards of the preliminary offers, September 2013,
https://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/Pljevlja-inadequate-standards.pdf.

For Kostolac B3, the draft version of the Environmental Impact Assessment at
http://www.merz.gov.rs/sites/default/files/TE_Kostolac%20B3%20EIA%20oktobar%202013-v2.pdf
shows that the plant is not likely to be in line with the Industrial Emissions Directive’s limit on NOx of 150 mg/Nm3.

[3] Emission standard of air pollutants for thermal power plants GB 13223-2011 replacing GB13223-2003 and putting into effect as of Jan.1, 2012,
http://english.mep.gov.cn/standards_reports/standards/Air_Environment/Emission_standard1/201201/t20120106_222242.htm

unofficial English translation at:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/bfinamore/NRDC%20Unofficial%20English%20Summary.docx

[4] For more information, see:
Center for Environment and CEE Bankwatch Network: Stanari power plant in Bosnia allowed to pollute 2-10 times higher than EU limits, new expert analysis shows, 21 November 2013:
https://bankwatch.org/news-media/for-journalists/press-releases/stanari-power-plant-bosnia-allowed-pollute-2-10-times-high

Stanari power plant in Bosnia allowed to pollute 2-10 times higher than EU limits, new expert analysis shows


The pollution from EFT’s new 300 MW Stanari lignite-fired power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina may be 2-10 times higher than EU limits allow, according to a new expert analysis [1] commissioned by the Center for Environment from Banja Luka.

The analysis, carried out by Polish expert Dr hab. Leszek Pazderski examines the environmental permit [2] for the Stanari power plant project for compliance with four pieces of EU legislation [3] and finds that it does not comply with any of them. The pollution levels given for Stanari in its environmental permit are 2-10 times more than allowed by EU pollution legislation and 2-3 times more than allowed by EU legislation which is Bosnia and Herzegovina legislation is already obliged to implement [4].

“In 2018 new power plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina – including Stanari – will have to comply with the pollution standards in the EU Industrial Emissions Directive, so constructing any plant now that doesn’t meet these standards is pointless and will only lead to high retrofitting costs very soon”, commented Miodrag Dakic of the Center for Environment from Banja Luka.

Moreover, the analysis finds that the changes in the project made since the Environmental Permit was issued are so large that they require a new Environmental Impact Assessment. Construction of the 300 Stanari MW power plant by contractor Dongfang started this year but the project has been under development for many years, and has undergone a capacity reduction from 410 MW to 300 MW and a change of technology [5] which results in increase of SO2 emissions and lower thermal efficiency.

“Costly mistakes such as those made in the permitting process for Stanari must be avoided in future plants such as Ugljevik III, for which a concession agreement is shortly expected to be signed”, adds Igor Kalaba of the Center for Environment. “However the Environmental Impact Assessment shows that the plant’s efficiency level is not expected to be in line with EU Best Available Techniques requirements and fails to give exact expected emissions for the chosen technology.” [6]

For more information, contact:

Igor Kalaba, Center for Environment, Banja Luka
igor.kalaba at czzs.org
Tel.: +387 65860796

Pippa Gallop, CEE Bankwatch Network
pippa.gallop at bankwatch.org
Tel.: +385 99 755 9787

Interviews can be arranged with Dr Pazderski via Igor Kalaba

Notes for editors

[1] The analysis is available at:
https://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/analysis-Stanari-compliance.pdf

[2 ] The permit was issued on 19th May 2008, changed on 22nd September 2010 and prolonged on 19.04.2013 by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Environment of the Republika Srpska Entity.

[3] The Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) – will be binding for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2018, including for Stanari power plant.

The Large Combustion Plants Directive (2001/80/EC) – binding for Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Energy Community Treaty

The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC) – Best Available Techniques requirements (2008/1/EC) – recommended for Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Energy Community Treaty

The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (2011/92/EU) – binding for Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Energy Community Treaty.

[4] The Large Combustion Plants Directive (2001/80/EC) – binding for Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Energy Community Treaty.

[5] After the first Stanari Environmental Permit was issued in 2008, the project was changed from 410 MWe to 300 MWe and from pulverised coal with supercritical steam parameters to subcritical steam parameters in a circulating fluidised boiler.

[6] The chosen technology is circulating fluidized bed (CFB). p.117 of the Environmental Impact Assessment states that its net efficiency will be only 34.1 percent. Such a value is much lower than the respective BAT Reference document limit of 40% for lignite-fired, new combustion plants using fluidised bed combustion. In consequence, Ugljevik III will emit relatively large amounts of CO2 and other pollutants per unit of electric power.

EU Cohesion Policy deal done, but not dusted

Strasbourg, France – Following final agreement today by the European Parliament on EU Cohesion Policy spending for the next seven years, CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe are calling on eastern European countries to now make the most of the funds available and commit to quality spending.

The groups are urging member states to use the EUR 322 billion European Structural and Investment Funds to make a real difference for people and planet in the forthcoming EU budgetary period.

Markus Trilling, EU Funds coordinator for Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe, commented:

“The onus is now on national governments to prioritise quality spending of the EU funds as they race to finalise their 2014-2020 spending commitments. We want to see the commitment to 20 percent green spending, agreed by European leaders back in February, at the very least respected, if not exceeded, in the weeks ahead. Unfortunately, preliminary analysis shows that the 20 percent green goal may not be met by some countries – the European Commission should step in to make sure it is.”

“The minimum of EUR 23 billion dedicated to catalyse ‘the shift to the low carbon economy’ should support communities in their efforts to establish sustainable local energy solutions and not be put into the pockets of large energy companies burning unsustainable biomass.”

“Priority for green spending of the EU budget is the best possible option for governments that want to create jobs, cut ever-increasing energy bills for consumers, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, improve air quality and preserve the abundance of Europe’s natural heritage.”

In February this year, EU leaders agreed to earmark 20 percent of EU Funds for 2014-2020 to ‘green’ spending. However, progress towards this target remains uncertain. This week Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe released data that reveals how eight new member states are failing to fully capitalise on these climate funds that would help to decarbonise their economies. [1]

The groups are thus urging national governments and the European Commission, which is currently monitoring member state EU spending plans, to make more effort to ensure all EU members use 20 percent of their 2014-2020 EU funds for climate action.

“Eastern European countries are the most energy-intensive in Europe and are shooting themselves in the foot by underspending climate funds or allocating them to other areas. These green funds are a not-to-be-missed opportunity to channel public investments into the long-term health and wellbeing of citizens and our planet,” concluded Trilling.

For more information contact:

Markus Trilling, EU Funds Campaign Coordinator
Friends of the Earth Europe / CEE Bankwatch Network
Tel: +32 2 8931031
Email: markus.trilling at foeeurope.org

Notes for editors

1. The infographic is available at
https://bankwatch.org/eastern-Europe-climate-spending-interactive
and includes current information about eight countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia.

Protests target European bank as it champions coal from the side lines of Warsaw climate conference

Warsaw – Actions are being organised today in several European capitals to protest the attendance of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development at the International Coal and Climate Summit, organised by the World Coal Association in parallel to the United Nation’s climate conference in Poland.

Groups participating in the protest actions [1] argue that the EBRD’s presence at the Coal and Climate summit – which critics say undermines the spirit and substance of the UN process [2] – is a worrying signal that the bank intends to continue funnelling public money into carbon-intensive projects.

The EBRD is currently reviewing its Energy Strategy, which guides its investments in the sector, but the bank’s participation at the Summit suggests that the new strategy will not seriously address the threat of climate change, say the groups.

As delegates from around the world gather in Warsaw for the nineteenth annual climate convention, overwhelming evidence from the scientific community is unequivocal about the need to keep at least two-thirds of known fossil fuel reserves in the ground in order to limit rising global temperatures below the agreed goal of two degrees Celsius.

Yet the EBRD plans to continue investing in fossil fuels, including coal, according to a draft of the energy strategy presented this summer. Between 2006 and 2011, while the current strategy was in place, 48 percent of the EBRD’s EUR 6.7 billion portfolio went to fossil fuels. Support for coal projects increased during this period, from EUR 60 million to EUR 262 million. [3]

Fidanka McGrath, Bankwatch EBRD co-ordinator said: “While the International Coal and Climate summit beats the drum of a so-called ‘cleaner coal,’ this threadbare veneer is a last ditch spin effort by the coal lobby to prop up an outdated and dying industry. How then could anybody take the EBRD seriously when it says it is committed to addressing the challenges of climate change with its new energy strategy?”

“If no major changes are introduced to the energy strategy, EBRD shareholders might as well vote to change its name to the ‘European Bank for Recarbonisation and Destruction’. Coal projects won’t reconstruct and they won’t develop the bank’s countries of operation, but they will maintain a status quo that pushes the world closer to the brink of climate catastrophe,” added McGrath.

Over the summer more than one hundred organisations commented on the draft energy strategy and asked the EBRD to follow its sister institution the European Investment Bank and introduce criteria to restrict lending for coal power and coal mining projects [4].

The new energy strategy is expected to be approved by the EBRD Board of Directors on 10 December.

For more information contact:

In Warsaw
Kuba Gogolewski
Bankwatch energy campaigner
Mobile: + 32 28 93 10 32
Email: kuba.gogolewski at bankwatch.org

Notes

[1] Images from the actions are available at
#coalfreeEBRD in Prague

[2] The International Coal and Climate Summit is organised under the theme of ‘clean coal technologies, opportunities and innovations’: more information and background to the claims of clean coal are available in this briefing:
http: bankwatch.org/documents/no-such-thing-as-clean-coal.pdf

[3] Read more in the Bankwatch briefing on the EBRD energy lending strategy here –
https://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/briefing-EBRD-energypolicydraft-23Jul2013.pdf

[4] Among the recommendations are a shadow carbon price and an Emission Performance Standard set at a level of at least 350 gCO2/kWh.

Protestors address coal lobby meeting at Warsaw climate talks: ‘There is no such thing as clean coal’

WARSAW – People from around the world gathered today in front of Poland’s Ministry of Economy in protest of the World Coal Association’s International Coal and Climate Summit organised on the sidelines of the 19th UN climate change conference.

Demonstrators argue that the business-as-usual agenda of the summit is an attempt to distract attention from the imperative of addressing climate change. The summit aims to maintain an already fragile coal industry that without subsidies would collapse, say the organisers.

With the action’s centrepiece in town – an eight-metre, inflatable set of breathing lungs [1] – protestors at the ‘People before coal’ rally are calling for an immediate phase out of all coal technologies and a shift of investments towards energy technologies that respect peoples’ health, the climate and environment.

The Coal and Climate Summit is organised under the heading ‘clean coal technologies, opportunities and innovations,’ [2] suggesting that new technologies like carbon capture and storage and underground gasification can transform coal into a green energy source.

But participants at today’s rally say that the thin façade of ‘clean coal’ masks the risks to people’s health and the environment by a set of unproven and costly technologies designed to delay action on climate change. [3]

The most recent report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is unequivocal about the need to keep roughly two-thirds of known fossil fuel reserves in the ground in order to limit rising global temperatures.

Yet in the run-up to the Coal and Climate Summit, the World Coal Association has argued [4] for increased investments in more efficient coal power stations. Organisers of the action point out that coal is neither clean nor cheap, because burning coal releases a number of hazardous air pollutants that in turn cause chronic diseases like bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer.

Speaking during the rally, Józef Drzazgowski from the Association for the Conservation of the Environment “Przyjezierze” in Poland’s Wielkopolska lignite mining region, said: “Coal extraction causes human suffering and irreversible damage to the environment. We cannot put a value on the destruction of our community’s social fabric, and the loss of livelihoods when our farmlands are ripped apart to extract coal.”

Isobel Braithwaite, from the International Federation of Medical Students Associations, said: “There is no question that burning coal damages our lungs, and it affects how well we breathe. It is imperative that governments around the world say no to coal burning and protect citizens, especially youth and children from its impacts. Remember: climate change is also the biggest threat to human health in the twenty first century.”

During a press conference following the action, Dr. Michal Wilczynski, the former Chief Geologist and ex-Deputy Minister of Environment in Poland, said: “In discussions about Poland’s energy strategy till 2050, I have yet to hear anything from a politician or an official that shows they care for the well-being of Polish citizens. Official scenarios estimate that in 2050 Poland will use 60 million tonnes of lignite and 50 million tonnes of hard coal, requiring the development of new coal mines and power plants and causing untold damage to our health, environment and climate. The fact that the Coal and Climate Summit is being held under the auspices of the Polish government is further proof that it cares neither for the well-being of its citizens nor the environment.”

Soumya Dutta, the national convenor of India’s people’s science campaign, added: “We are now experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis, and this decade has seen the most serious of climate disasters.  Yet the world is running in circles to find concrete solutions, while continuing to advocate false solutions like ‘clean-coal’. There is no more tomorrow – if political leaders do not act today, they will be forced out tomorrow.”

For more information about the action and press conference contact

In Warsaw
Anna Drążkiewicz, Polish Green Network
Mobile: +48 – 514 32 67 80
annadrazkiewicz at zielonasiec.pl

Jamie Henn from 350.org
Mobile: +48 – 792 183 258
jamie at 350.org

For more information about the health impacts of coal contact

In Warsaw
Julia Huscher, Health and Environment Alliance HEAL
Mobile: + 48 509 619 270
julia at env-health.org

Notes for editors

[1] Images of the action are available at facebook.com/cough4coal. The inflatable lungs were created by the art-activist group Tools for Action
http://www.toolsforaction.net/

[2] http://scc.com.pl/konferencje/en/cct/

[3] A fully-referenced briefing about the myths of clean coal is available at: facebook.com/cough4coal

[4] http://www.worldcoal.org/extract/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/The-Warsaw-Communique-2013.pdf

EU budget’s climate potential at risk in eastern Europe – new data

Brussels, Belgium – Ahead of anticipated final agreement in the European Parliament this week (Tuesday November 19) on the forthcoming EU budget (for the period 2014-2020), CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe have today published data that shows how eight central and eastern European countries are failing to tap the climate potential of future EU billions.

With just over a month to go until the start of the new EUR 960 billion seven-year budgetary period, the analysis of the countries’ EU spending plans shows wide variations in commitments to climate spending, with only Hungary exceeding a commitment of 20 percent on spending for climate action.

Markus Trilling, EU funds coordinator for Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe, commented: “Earlier this year, the member states got behind a European Commission proposal that 20 percent of the next 960 billion euro EU budget be dedicated to climate measures. Such a financial commitment represents a tremendous opportunity to kick start the decarbonisation of central and eastern European countries which are among the most energy intensive in the EU.

“Cohesion Policy, which targets among other things energy and transport infrastructure, has the biggest potential to drive decarbonisation in the region. Hundreds of billions of euros of investments are needed over the next decades for this transformation, yet only one out of eight CEE countries analysed – Hungary – is currently planning to dedicate 20 percent of available funds for climate measures.”

The NGO analysis, carried out as member states have been preparing and submitting their future EU spending plans to the European Commission, finds that in some countries renewables are being sidelined and insufficient investments into smart grids are envisaged. Emissions boosting road infrastructure and airports also look set to benefit at the expense of sustainable transport.

Moreover, despite partnership with citizens and local communities being a core element of the new EU budget architecture, civil society has been insufficiently included in the planning process across the region.

Ondrej Pasek, Bankwatch national campaigner in the Czech Republic, whose country fares worst in the new analysis, commented: “The rhetoric of Czech officials involved in EU funds programming naturally conforms with EU environmental strategies and objectives, yet all the concrete steps being taken show that our authorities intend to continue with carbon-intensive energy, resource and transport projects.”

With only weeks remaining before member state EU Budget plans for 2014-2020 are finalised, Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe are calling on the European Commission to maintain vigilance over the member states in order to ensure that the opportunity provided by the ’20 percent for climate’ commitment is not squandered by countries in central and eastern Europe.

For more information, contact:

Markus Trilling, EU Funds Campaign Coordinator
Friends of the Earth Europe – CEE Bankwatch Network
Tel: +32 2 8931031
Email: mailto:markus.trilling at foeeurope.org

Notes for editors:

1. The infographic is available at
https://bankwatch.org/eastern-Europe-climate-spending-interactive
and includes current information about eight countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia.

On a scale of 1 to 18, the CEE countries analysed have scores from 5 (the Czech Republic) to 9 (Slovakia).

The scores were compiled on the basis of assessments made by experienced national EU funds campaigners on issues related to the inclusion of climate change considerations into national programming, including: the existence of mitigation and adaptation strategies, and the creation of an institutional set-up geared to monitor the implementation of climate-related measures.