Opportunities for biodiversity and environment missed in Bulgarian recovery plan
April 15, 2021
Instead of reforms, the country plans to rehab an irrigation system that can potentially destroy wetlands, and without transparency and public dialogue, the plan cements business-as-usual. With a 30 April deadline for submitting national recovery plans approaching and recent parliamentary elections, the Bulgarian government is failing to propose reforms and measures for biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and low carbon economy. Instead, actions such as rehabilitating state-owned irrigation systems not only contradict national strategies but might damage valuable wetland habitats. A lack of transparency and public dialogue casts a further shadow on the process.
Saving ‘private’ Rioni: Georgia’s growing environmental protest
April 9, 2021
In just a few months, a protest against a large dam on the Rioni River has grown from a handful of people in Lechkhumi, western Georgia into a national demonstration. On the International Day of Action for Rivers, 14 March, thousands of Georgians made history with the largest environmental protest in the country’s recent past.
District heating
April 7, 2021
Winters have become a stark reminder that we need to speed up the energy transition. In central and eastern Europe and the Western Balkans, district and individual heating are still dominated by polluting, expensive fossil fuels and other unsustainable energy sources. Europeans deserve warm homes without having to fear exorbitant energy bills, chronic air pollution or an out-of-control climate crisis. More national and local governments need to utilise European public finance to tap the massive potential of various renewable energies to power district heating systems so we heat homes, not the planet.
La conservación de la biodiversidad debe ser una prioridad de la Comunidad de la Energía
April 4, 2021
Foto-ilustración: PixabaynEl Tratado de la Comunidad de la Energía debe cumplir con las directivas pertinentes de la UE para reducir el …
Conservation of biodiversity must be a priority of the Energy Community
April 4, 2021
Photo-illustration: PixabaynnThe Energy Community Treaty must comply with the relevant EU directives in order to reduce the impact of …
Očuvanje biološke raznovrsnosti mora biti prioritet Energetske zajednice
April 4, 2021
Ugovor o Energetskoj zajednici mora da se uskladi sa relevantnim EU direktivama kako bi se smanjio uticaj energetskih projekata na biološku …
High time for better biodiversity protection in the Energy Community countries
March 31, 2021
The energy sector damages rivers, lakes and other habitats in the countries participating in the Energy Community Treaty, and the Treaty’s current rules are not sufficient to protect them. Our new analysis shows how the EU’s nature and water Directives can be adapted to help address this problem.
Highway to Hell: It’s Time Bosnia Rethought Corridor Vc
March 31, 2021
Locals in southwest Bosnia are shocked that the new European Corridor has been rerouted without serious consultation – when the impact on …
Thirsty hydropower: misuse of drinking water pipelines has destroyed a river in Bulgaria
March 30, 2021
The Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade was planned to use only the drinking water of the town of Blagoevgrad. Eight years later, it has used more than double the water allowed, leaving the river ‘even without frogs’. Our latest report shows the need for more scrutiny of EIB and EBRD lending through intermediary banks.
Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade (Bulgaria)
March 30, 2021
The Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade in Bulgaria consists of eight small hydropower plants installed on pipelines that supply the town of Blagoevgrad with drinking water. The plants were developed by the private company Blagoevgradska Bistri