March 26, 2021 | Read more Close to one hundred people from Sofia and the industrial northern town of Devnya took to the streets of the capital in protest against incineration and the air pollution affecting both towns, where the government pushes ahead with false solutions to the EU’s circular economy agenda.
March 25, 2021 | Read more A lack of ambition, vision and delivery sums up the Polish national recovery and resilience plan that was released on 26 February. The fundamental flaw is that the plan provides no path for the country to reach neither the EU’s climate neutrality target by 2050 nor the much less ambitious targets outlined in the recent Poland’s Energy Policy 2040 (PEP2040), like reducing the share of coal in the electricity mix to 56 per cent.
March 18, 2021 | Read more Member States plan pitiful amounts of spending from the €672 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to protect and preserve nature, in spite of EU requirements and the generally poor state of biodiversity across the continent, say civil society groups ahead of Thursday’s meeting of European environmental ministers.
March 17, 2021 | Read more The European Commission walks a tightrope with the EU Green Deal. Despite the long-term objectives of achieving a circular economy and reducing resource use, it plans to increase raw materials mining to meet the demand for the clean energy, renewables, and other high-tech solutions that are at the forefront of the EU’s green development plans. A planned lithium mine in Serbia, vehemently opposed by local communities, is a poignant example of this tension.
March 11, 2021 | Read more Brussels – The European Investment Bank (EIB) is a laggard among its lending peers in terms of the amount of information it provides about its activities, finds a new analysis.The 53 civil society groups behind this analysis — including CEE Bankwatch Network, Counter Balance, Client Earth and many more — are urging the Bank to be more open about the impacts of its financing.
March 11, 2021 | Read more The European Investment Bank, one of the largest lenders globally, is currently working on a new transparency policy that will govern how and what information the bank makes public. As the EU’s house bank, the EIB must guarantee the right of all citizens to access information held by public bodies.
March 10, 2021 | Read more National Recovery and Resilience Plans have to be submitted to the European Commission by 30 April, 2021. Yet less than two months before the deadline, the latest updates from the Romanian and Latvian recovery plans raise alarm on public participation and on unambitious climate and energy targets.
March 9, 2021 | Read more As the unfolding political crisis engulfs the streets of Yerevan, recent developments at the Bern Convention and EBRD portent a rocky future for the Amulsar project.
March 8, 2021 | Read more Promoting gender rights and women’s empowerment has become a trend among multilateral development banks (MDBs). Organising discussions on best practices and promoting gender-related issues is welcome, but it is crucial that banks ensure meaningful protection and support to the women most affected by international public investments.
March 5, 2021 | Read more District Heating is an efficient way to heat homes, particularly in a country like Latvia where 58% of its primary energy consumption is used for heating. But Selīna Vancāne at Riga City Council is very concerned that the draft EU Recovery plans do not include any support under the climate goals for district heating projects. Perhaps it’s because of a blind spot: most of Europe is prioritising individual heating units powered by electricity. Meanwhile, Latvia is tacking the issue of fuel sources for district heating. There’s gas (not clean, must be imported from Russia), woodchips (plenty of local supply, but has sustainability limits), and much better solutions like solar. Vancāne offers the case study of Salaspils Siltums, built in 6 months, which provides solar district heating to 85% of a town of 18,000 people. She urges the EU to fund both district heating and the new clean solutions it can use. The results can be cost effective, sustainable, efficient and curb emissions.
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