New opportunities for eastern Europe if the EU’s bank ramps up climate ambition and quits fossil fuels
June 13, 2019
Ahead of the European Investment Bank’s annual governors’ meeting, several EU’s finance ministers put forward a joint non-paper “Climate for the future of Europe” with an idea to transform the EIB: make green financing its top priority and promote investments in energy and climate transition. The right initiative risks failing if not supported by the majority of the bank’s shareholders, in particular by the eastern states that wrongfully fear that EIB’s increasing ambition in climate finance will unfavorably impact the bank’s presence in their countries.
In Georgia, leaked contract shows Nenskra hydropower project to cost country USD 60 million a year
June 10, 2019
For immediate release. Prague, Tbilisi – A leaked contract between the Georgian government and the company behind the Nenskra hydropower project includes terms that indicate the project will incur massive losses for the state, according to a report broadcast on 8 June by the national television station Rustavi 2 [1].
Money for nothing: Ugljevik III coal concession must be cancelled, not bought off
June 7, 2019
After years of speculation about the Ugljevik III coal power project in Bosnia-Herzegovina, this week’s news is that the government wants to buy off Comsar Energy’s concession. Yet if the company hasn’t fulfilled the conditions from the contract, why should it be rewarded?
New study finds climate and energy plans at odds with EU targets for circular economy and emissions reductions
June 5, 2019
For immediate release – Five countries in central and eastern Europe all plan a variety of waste incineration methods in their national energy and climate plans (NECPs), jeopardising their ability to meet mandatory European targets aimed at improving recycling rates, fostering a circular economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the sector, finds a new report from CEE Bankwatch Network.
Waste incineration with energy recovery in the NECPs of Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia
June 4, 2019
Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia all plan to expand the use of waste incineration to generate energy (mostly heat) as part of their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). These plans will lead to much higher greenhouse gas emissions (
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Environmental permit for Buk Bijela hydropower plant cancelled
May 30, 2019
The Banja Luka District Court has cancelled the environmental permit for the planned 93 MW Buk Bijela hydropower plant on the river Drina in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Aarhus Resource Center in Sarajevo has announced today, following the court’s positive 13 May ruling on the Center’s complaint.
EBRD to Stop Financing HPPs in Protected Areas – Exit – Explaining Albania
May 28, 2019
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that starting from January 1, 2020 it will not finance hydropower plants (HPP) projects in areas with high biodiversity. EBRD’s new environmental and social policy sets stricter
EBRD tightens standards in response to Balkan hydropower boom
May 16, 2019
As a result of public resistance to small-scale hydropower projects in the Balkans, from the beginning of 2020, the EBRD will ask commercial banks to refer all high-risk projects – including all hydropower plants – for additional checks. The EBRD also requires them to meet higher environmental standards than previously. The bank will ask that such projects are disclosed to the public on the financial intermediary’s website, finally increasing disclosure on these hitherto hidden projects.
Indigenous communities in Georgia threatened by a major hydropower project financed with European public money
May 10, 2019
There are many reasons why the Nenskra hydropower plant in Georgia should not be built at all. The project is set to have devastating environmental and social impacts, and its economics are particularly shoddy.
Five reasons why EBRD should pull out of the controversial Nenskra hydropower project
May 8, 2019
As the realisation of the project keeps dragging on, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the EBRD, and all international financial institutions involved, to justify their engagement.
