October 1, 2019 | Read more The EU’s next major investment scheme, succeeding the so-called Juncker Plan, is likely to be central to the ‘European Green Deal’ touted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. But a report released today by watchdog NGOs Counter Balance and CEE Bankwatch Network finds the Juncker Plan has so far shown weaknesses in its transparency, sustainability, geographical concentration and additionality, and calls for improvements for its post-2020 phase.
September 26, 2019 | Read more In parallel to the UN Climate Summit, Bankwatch sends our experts on Just Transition to Estonia to share with locals the experience from coal mining countries that have started to develop action plans for regions that would need to go through re-development due to coal phase-out.
September 25, 2019 | Read more Disproportionate public subsidies for small hydropower in the Western Balkans have resulted in widespread environmental damage and have benefited wealthy business people close to or part of the region’s governments, with little benefit for electricity generation, finds a new study released today by CEE Bankwatch Network.
September 24, 2019 | Read more In the town of Salaspils, Latvia, the sun will now provide most of the energy for heating water during warm months.
September 23, 2019 | Read more NGOs Bankwatch Romania and Greenpeace launched today a new report, “Just transition in Hunedoara – Economic diversification in a fair and sustainable manner”, outlining scenarios for the post-coal development of Romania’s best known coal region, the Jiu Valley, and highlighting that job growth and economic development without coal are very much possible in the region.
September 20, 2019 | Read more Beginning September 20, millions of people across the globe will be joining the #GlobalClimateStrike week of action, showing political leaders that people everywhere want no more excuses and bad faith – action on climate should happen today and be radical.
September 18, 2019 | Read more Montenegrin Premier Duško Marković announced that the Government is no longer pursuing the planned Pljevlja II lignite power plant, making Montenegro the first Western Balkan country to officially cancel a new coal project.
September 12, 2019 | Read more The past is never dead – In spite of warnings about its risks and promises of its safety, the idle Shuakhevi hydropower plant in Georgia continues to wreak havoc on local lands and livelihoods.
September 6, 2019 | Read more The Stanari coal-fired power plant, which started operating in September 2016, its ash disposal site, and the already-existing open-cast lignite mine have formed a curve around the north and east of the village. Now the locals in Stanari are regularly affected by pollution from different directions. The ones we spoke to, who live closest to the mine, claim that their health is deteriorating, their agricultural land is becoming useless and their homes are losing their value as the mine is devouring the nearby hills.
September 4, 2019 | Read more The Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina has breached competition legislation by halting its incentive scheme for wind farms in March this year, according to a complaint submitted today to the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna by the Banja-Luka-based Center for Environment.
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