The EBRD plans more climate damaging loans in new energy policy draft
July 22, 2013
London – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) published July 19 a draft (pdf) of its future energy policy. According to CEE Bankwatch Network, although the bank correctly depicts the urgency of transitioning towards low-carbon economies, it falls short when it comes to commitments: lending to fossil fuels is envisaged to continue, including for coal, the dirties of fossil fuels; and promises to support renewables and energy efficiency, though welcome, are not accompanied by persuasive benchmarks and timelines.
UPDATED: A guide to examining the European Investment Bank’s energy lending portfolio
July 17, 2013
A thorough check of the European Investment Bank’s energy lending data shows that not all is as rosy as the EIB would like to see it. We’ve paired up with Open Spending to provide an introduction into how to interpret and scrutinise the numbers.
Green agriculture spending culled in Estonia – NGOs demand proper use of future EU money
June 26, 2013
While the EU’s future common agricultural policy is taking shape in Brussels, it’s not just there that major agri-business interests are flexing their muscles to take the ‘green-ness’ out of EU agricultural spending.
EURATOM loan to Ukraine nuclear programme must not go ahead
June 20, 2013
In March 2013 the Implementation Committee under the UN Espoo Convention ruled that Ukraine’s expansion of the lifetime of its old nuclear reactors is in breach of the Convention (more details in our press release). Nevertheless the European Commission plans to decide on a EURATOM loan for the project.
Shale tale: Unconventional gas and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
June 12, 2013
During the last months, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has come out with positive statements about shale gas investments, most recently on Poland – a rather rash endorsement of a controversial technology.
Energy efficiency becoming more central to future EU spending in the Czech Republic – thanks to NGO calls
May 21, 2013
Energy efficiency has now become a priority for EU funding in the Czech Republic for the forthcoming 2014-2020 budgetary period.
Divesting from coal is not ideology but climate science – a reminder for the EBRD
May 14, 2013
The energy director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has made astonishing statements about coal investments prompting Bankwatch’s EBRD campaign team to react.
No end in sight for EBRD coal finance
May 10, 2013
Istanbul – With the 2013 EBRD annual meetings underway and in spite of repeated commitments to sustainability, the bank is set to continue financing coal projects that will dangerously aggravate climate change.
Ukraine’s nuclear expansion plans under fire from UN body, EBRD ‘safety loan’ called into question again
May 10, 2013
In a landmark ruling laid out in a March 25 letter to the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Implementation Commission of the United Nations Espoo Convention has deemed that Ukraine’s plans to expand the lifetime of its old nuclear reactors is in breach of the convention – the same convention that Ukraine ratified in 1999. Ukrainian campaigners believe that this should lead the EBRD to halt the disbursement of a EUR 300 million ‘nuclear safety’ loan agreed with Ukraine’s state nuclear operator just days prior to the issuing of the Espoo verdict.
Health impacts of coal quantified – public lenders urged to act
May 10, 2013
The findings of a recent report entitled ‘The unpaid health bill: How coal power plants make us sick’, released by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), detail the health impacts of existing coal in Europe and quantify the associated costs of mortality and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular disease due to coal pollution.