Chinese-built Dabar hydropower plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina set to destroy four Emerald and two Ramsar sites
July 31, 2023
If completed, the EUR 338 million project would violate a Recommendation of the Bern Convention No. 217 (2022) and leave tributaries of the Neretva river without water. People living in the Nevesinjsko karst field oppose resettlement and flooding of their houses and land.
Adriatic Metals’ ruthless mining: How can the EBRD help improve its clients’ practices when it doesn’t follow its own standards?
July 27, 2023
The DFF Adriatic Metals project, located between the towns of Vareš and Kakanj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is proclaimed by the investor to be setting new benchmarks for sustainable mining and committing to safety, community, and sustainability – claims not shared by people living in Kakanj.
Renewable energy permitting in Bosnia and Herzegovina: how to optimise the process while safeguarding the environment and public participation
July 25, 2023
Investors complain about excessive administrative requirements to build wind farms, but the poorly-controlled proliferation of hydropower plants indicates a dearth of environmental and social safeguards. How can sustainable renewables be built quickly enough while protecting nature and ensuring public participation?
Renewable energy permitting in Bosnia and Herzegovina: how to optimise the process while safeguarding the environment and public participation
July 25, 2023
This analysis begins with an overview of the permits required for building renewable energy facilities in the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS).
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s draft NECP: The good, the bad and the ugly
July 20, 2023
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s draft NECP finally looks to the future, plans no new fossil fuel power plants and significantly scales back unrealistic hydropower plans. But existing coal plants are to keep operating illegally and the draft is furtive about coal-to-biomass plans.
The Taia hydropower plant: the latest ecocide to hit Romania
July 19, 2023
In recent years, Romania has witnessed a concerning rise in cases of environmental degradation and violations of nature protection laws. This trend has significant implications not only for the country’s natural heritage but also for the rule of law. Additionally, it poses challenges for environmental organisations and citizens that advocate for nature conservation. The long-contested small hydropower plant on the Taia river is a prominent case in point.
Serbia’s draft NECP: What is the actual plan?
July 17, 2023
Serbia’s draft National Energy and Climate Plan is currently on public consultation until 28 July. But despite some positive measures, it raises more questions than it answers.
Sustainable renewables incentives – how are the Western Balkans doing?
June 29, 2023
In the decade leading up to 2020, the Western Balkans’ energy transition got off to a poor start, with governments limiting wind and solar investments and instead incentivising a small hydropower boom, which has damaged pristine rivers and streams across the region.
Comply or Close 2023: five years of deadly legal breaches by Western Balkan coal plants
June 28, 2023
The end of 2022 marked five years since new air pollution standards entered into force in the Western Balkans on 1 January 2018. Yet the deadly air pollution from the region’s mostly antiquated coal power plants has hardly decreased at all. In fact, in 2022 it increased compared to 2021 for all three regulated pollutants
New report – deadly legal breaches by Western Balkan coal plants increased in 2022
June 28, 2023
In 2022, deadly air pollution from the Western Balkans’ coal power plants increased compared to 2021, according to the fifth edition of Bankwatch’s Comply or Close report, published today (1). Emissions of all three regulated pollutants – sulphur dioxide (SO2), dust and nitrogen oxides (NOx) grew, and for the first time, the region’s overall limit for NOx was breached.