State of play with the energy transformation in Romania
December 13, 2018
Europe’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development means that the EU must drive an energy transformation, but in Romania, inadequate financial support and a lack of political will still stand in the way of progress.
Challenges of communicating the energy transformation in Latvia [Video]
December 12, 2018
Renewable energy has gotten a bad rap in Latvia. Since the construction of hydroelectric power stations during the Soviet era to the recent installment of the first wind parks and the country’s feed-in tarrif system, the ‘mandatory procurement scheme,’ renewables have been used for nefarious purposes like fuelling populism during election campaigns.
Shuakhevi Compliance Review
December 12, 2018
In view of the considerable public resources invested in the Shuakhevi HPP project and in view of the negative impacts on local people’s safety and livelihoods, as well on local resources needed for sustainable development of the Adjara region and Geor
NGOs urge EU bank to quit fossil fuels investments, as it touts its climate commitment at COP24
December 11, 2018
Brussels, Katowice, Prague – While confirming its plans to align with the Paris Agreement, the European Investment Bank (EIB) still continues to fund climate damaging fossil fuel projects, having disbursed more than EUR 11.8 billion in fossil fuels projects since 2013 – point out NGOs in a new briefing [1].
In Slovakia, a shining example of EU funds for renewables and families
December 11, 2018
There is a sad joke in Slovakia that the country could become a museum for renewable energy sources (RES). Not because the Slovak physicist Aurel Stodola invented in 1928 the world’s oldest heat pump that still powers Geneva’s city hall, but because of its antiquated energy policy that lacks systematic support for renewables at the local and national levels.
Coal supplied by Hungary’s BAZ county mines to blame for growing air pollution
December 11, 2018
As new mines mushroom in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (BAZ) county, Hungary, air pollution picks up the pace, our independent air monitoring shows. Authorities need to help people move towards cleaner heating systems and put an end to coal mining in the region.
Failing Better or Climate Success?
December 10, 2018
All the shareholders of the EIB have ratified the Paris Agreement, and the bank itself has claimed during the One Planet Summit in New York that it will align all its activities with the Paris Agreement by 2020. As President Hoyer put it, ‘I am confide
EkoSvest calls on Macedonian government to move to more rational renewable energy support system
December 10, 2018
Environmental NGO Eko-svest has this week called on the Macedonian government not to continue subsidising new renewable energy plants through the guaranteed buy-off of electricity at a guaranteed price and to instead move to a more competitive system with lower costs for end consumers.
European Parliament warns Balkan countries to stop destructive hydropower
December 6, 2018
The European Parliament urged the EBRD and EIB to review their support for hydropower plant projects in its last week’s resolutions on the European Commission’s 2018 reports on Albania and Montenegro. The votes come as a clear sign that the European institutions are starting to reconsider their support for hydropower as green energy.
Just Transition in four questions
December 3, 2018
At the COP24 in Katowice, Poland is inviting world leaders to endorse the Silesia Declaration on Solidarity and Just Transition. The document emphasizes the importance of decarbonizing economies to protect the climate in a socially responsible way, str
