April 17, 2025 | Read more
The most significant uses of peat in the world are for the creation of soil substrates and the production of energy. In 2022, the peat sector was responsible for 10.7 per cent of Latvia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Peatlands store twice as much carbon as forests worldwide.
April 14, 2025 | Read more
On the afternoon of 28 March, residents, municipal representatives, and locally elected officials joined a panel of experts in the Latvian city of Daugavpils to discuss the future of cycling in the city. The aim of the event was to identify existing challenges as well as practical solutions that might encourage more residents to choose cycling as a regular mode of transport.
April 11, 2025 | Read more
The Western Balkans is facing a pressing energy crisis, largely due to outdated district heating systems that waste vast amounts of energy. In Serbia alone, district heating networks serve over 700,0000 households, yet inefficiencies have led to energy losses of up to 12 per cent, resulting in higher costs and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Energy consumption per square metre is nearly triple that of western Europe, mainly due to poor insulation and ageing infrastructure. Rising energy prices and reliance on often imported fossil fuels make energy efficiency an economic necessity.
March 25, 2025 | Read more
The most significant uses of peat in the world are for the creation of soil substrates and the production of energy. In 2022, the peat sector was responsible for 10.7 per cent of Latvia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Peatlands store twice as much carbon as forests worldwide.
March 20, 2025 | Read more
The profound transformation of Europe’s energy sector in response to climate change and the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is having a particularly significant impact on regions that have long relied on fossil fuels, especially coal mining.
March 14, 2025 | Read more
The future of Central Asia’s key rivers and lakes is at risk, warn international environmental groups Rivers without Boundaries, International Rivers, Friends of the Earth US, Urgewald and CEE Bankwatch Network in a formal request sent today to the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
March 10, 2025 | Read more
A new report by Bankwatch, Za Zemiata and Zelena Akcija, in collaboration with Zero Waste Europe, reveals that current EU budget allocations for circular economy and municipal waste management measures are insufficient to help central and eastern European countries catch up with the EU’s decarbonisation targets.
March 7, 2025 | Read more
In the current age of ‘competent white men’, ‘traditional family values’ and the EU’s simplified sustainable finance regulations, what lies in store for the inclusion and equality policies of Europe’s public development banks?
March 5, 2025 | Read more
Community energy and energy cooperatives in Estonia are still in the early stages of development, but interest in the field is growing steadily. In recent years, several small cooperatives have been established, with some communities taking the initiative to develop solar and wind energy projects. However, in the county of Ida–Viru, the heart of Estonia’s just transition, there are no fully functioning renewable energy cooperatives to inspire and mobilise local communities.
March 5, 2025 | Read more
This story explores the changes that the EBRD has made to its revised safeguards, with a particular focus on human rights due diligence. Strengthening this aspect, particularly the EBRD’s weak enforcement of client requirements, has long been a key priority for Bankwatch and has informed the collective advocacy efforts of many other civil society organisations.
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