August 23, 2023 | Read more A measure intended to replace Romania’s coal-fired plants with highly efficient combined heat and power (CHP) for use in district heating systems is slated for funding under Romania’s national recovery and resilience plan.
August 21, 2023 | Read more The efforts of Tbilisi City Hall, responsible for transport reform, are anything but commendable. Criticism is also apt for the international financial institutions that have invested significantly in Tbilisi’s transport planning overhaul, and that are therefore responsible for monitoring its progress and impact.
August 8, 2023 | Read more In stark contradiction with the urgent need and ambitious measures taken to end Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels, the Bulgarian government is working to join a fossil gas prospecting project in the Black Sea.
August 7, 2023 | Read more Despite months of preparatory negotiations between the Hungarian government and the European Commission, the Hungarian public has only two weeks in August to participate in the public consultation on the extensive 67-page draft REPowerEU chapter before it’s submitted to the European Commission by 31 August.
August 3, 2023 | Read more The North-South Corridor, widely promoted by international financial institutions, aims to facilitate the transport of goods as the ‘only land access to the Russian Federation’, as well as to Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan, running through Georgia. Yet the project impacts the cultural heritage of picturesque landscapes in Georgia without answering the major question raised Georgian taxpayers – why should they pay for a new road to Russia, a country that does not have diplomatic relations with Georgia, has occupied Georgian territories, and presents one of the major obstacles to Georgia’s European future?
July 31, 2023 | Read more If completed, the EUR 338 million project would violate a Recommendation of the Bern Convention No. 217 (2022) and leave tributaries of the Neretva river without water. People living in the Nevesinjsko karst field oppose resettlement and flooding of their houses and land.
July 27, 2023 | Read more The DFF Adriatic Metals project, located between the towns of Vareš and Kakanj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is proclaimed by the investor to be setting new benchmarks for sustainable mining and committing to safety, community, and sustainability – claims not shared by people living in Kakanj.
July 27, 2023 | Read more Although the EU has managed to brave the energy emergency triggered by Russia’s assault on Ukraine, a Bankwatch report released today reveals that the Polish, Croatian and Bulgarian governments are still seeking at least EUR 1.5 billion in EU public money to build new fossil gas infrastructure under the guise of an emergency response.
July 26, 2023 | Read more The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s lending arm, is facing renewed pressure to improve its transparency (1). In a recent decision, the Ombudsman highlighted the EIB’s insufficient justification for withholding access to environmental information related to a significant loan granted to Poland’s largest state-owned energy utility, PGE (2).
July 25, 2023 | Read more Investors complain about excessive administrative requirements to build wind farms, but the poorly-controlled proliferation of hydropower plants indicates a dearth of environmental and social safeguards. How can sustainable renewables be built quickly enough while protecting nature and ensuring public participation?
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