Opportunities for resource efficiency investments in Serbia
October 2, 2014
A position paper on the possibilities for investments in resource efficiency projects in Serbia by the Serbian Bankwatch member group Center for Ecology and Sustainable Development (CEKOR).
On Evgeny Vitishko, multilateral development banks and the criminalisation of public criticism
September 26, 2014
The recent rejection to release Evgeny Vitishko’s, an imprisoned environmental activist in Russia, illustrates the backlash against fundamental rights and freedoms in some countries. Multilateral development banks need to take notice of this trend and be more wary of the risk that their lending may strengthen authoritarian regimes.
Ukraine’s energy sector: badly in need of repair
September 25, 2014
Ukraine’s energy sector faces unprecedented challenges, from a reliance on expensive fossil-fuel imports to inefficient infrastructure and markets. But rather than viewing this as a vulnerability, Ukraine’s energy sector is potentially a low-hanging fruit for reform, notes a new report from the NGO CEE Bankwatch Network.
Balkans-Visegrad civil society exchange: case studies from internships
September 24, 2014
A compilation of 4 case studies as a result of internships carried out in Visegrad countries – Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia – by Bankwatch member and partner organisations CEKOR (Serbia), Center for Environment (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and EDEN Center (Albania).
Will Ukrainian coal hijack today’s Energy Community meeting?
September 23, 2014
Currently presiding over the EU-backed Energy Community’s Minsterial Council, Ukraine will likely try to dilute environmental regulations in the Treaty. But the country’s ageing coal-fired power plants are troubled by inefficiency and pollution and in dire need of environmental improvements.
Energy Community meeting must deliver reforms
September 22, 2014
Brussels – A group of leading NGOs active in the Balkan region are calling for urgent reform of the Energy Community Treaty, as its Ministerial Council prepares to meet in Kiev on September 23rd. The groups are calling for both the expansion of the environmental and climate component of the Treaty and measures to ensure that existing obligations are better enforced.
Cross-border coal pollution for the first time under scrutiny by UN body
September 22, 2014
A new unit at the Kostolac coal-fired power plant in Serbia is the first coal project to be considered by the Espoo Convention Implementation Committee for transboundary impacts.
Dusting off Ukraine’s energy sector – Why the country must address inefficiency and pollution at its ageing coal-fired power plants
September 16, 2014
The study, based on a field trip to two coal power plants and communities in Western Ukraine, highlights some of the pollution challenges of energy generation from coal in Ukraine, explains the urgent need for reform in Ukraine’s energy sector and the opportunities that the Energy Community membership brings to the country.
Serbian energy sector needs overhaul
September 10, 2014
The news portal Deutsche Welle has visited the Kolubara lignite mine in Serbia and produced a short clip about the difficulties faced by the Serbian energy sector. Our Serbian colleague Nikola Perusic speaks in the video about the terrible landslide that happened in May 2013.
Second fatal landslide in Georgian Dariali valley
August 22, 2014
While likely not the cause, the EBRD-financed Dariali hydropower plant is being constructed without proper assessment or mitigation of known geological risks. The construction must be halted to avoid further damage.