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.
The G8, tax havens and the need to clean up our own “bank yard”
June 18, 2013
While the G8 leaders claim they are at war with tax avoidance, their own bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is involved in deals linked to offshore financial centres.
Off balance – The Georgian energy sector and the contradictions in EU policy and practice
June 18, 2013
This study reviews the development of greenfield hydro projects in Georgia and explores how current energy sector trends in the country relate – or otherwise – to sustainable energy principles.
Ukrainian ecologists call on EU not to fund new coal plants
June 6, 2013
A Ukrainian application for European funding of two new coal plants would cause massive health and environmental damage to local people from nitrogen oxide emissions and other related pollution effects, local environmental campaigners have told EurActiv.
[Campaign update] The reality of resettlement in Kolubara: Out of the frying pan into the fire
June 4, 2013
A quick visit to the Kolubara mining basin reveals that the resettlement there looks nothing like the presentation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
How strong are human rights safeguards in the EBRD’s policies? Lessons learned from the Kolubara project
May 30, 2013
Experience with the implementation of the Environmental and Social Policy in the case of several controversial projects suggests that the EBRD’s environmental and social safeguards are not robust enough and need strengthened. The case of the Kolubara coal mine ‘Environmental Improvement’ project, Serbia illustrates how the policy places most responsibilities on the client, and EBRD assessment and monitoring are excessively reliant on input from the client, even in cases when feedback from NGOs and communities consistently contradicts the claims of the project sponsor.
Letter on Kolubara lignite mine to the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia
May 28, 2013
The letter brings the resettlement and expropriation issues that are connected to the Kolubara lignite mine to the attention of the EU’s representation in Serbia. Enclosed were recent letters to the EBRD and the Serbian finance minister (pdf) as well as a guardian article that illustrates the urgency of these problems.
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.
Open letter to Serbian Minister for Finance and Economy concerning Kolubara resettlement
May 14, 2013
The open letter – signed by Srpski Centar Ekologije, Uneco Kolubara, and Bankwatch member group CEKOR – raises issues with resettlement and expropriations connected to the Kolubara lignite mine that are not adequately addressed.
Fair treatment is a long time coming at Serbia’s Kolubara lignite mine
May 13, 2013
People from the Kolubara mine basin in Serbia have many stories to tell about the hardships they face due to the lignite mining operations. Serbian Bankwatcher Nikola Perusic adds his account to two stories in the guardian and in Bankwatch Mail 56.