Lack of ambition on full display as eastern Member States graded on first climate and energy plans submitted to Commission
March 22, 2019
Member States across central and eastern Europe continue to do less than their fair share in setting the course for the EU to meet its long-term energy and climate commitments, finds a new Bankwatch analysis [1] of the national energy and climate plans (NECP) in eight Member States.
Romania’s dodgy math: will the country retire 2.2 GW of coal by the end of 2019?
March 13, 2019
Romania’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) contains dodgy maths that seems to imply the country will retire 2.2 GW of coal by the end of 2019, according to an analysis of the document published today by Bankwatch Romania.
Bosnia-Herzegovina Federal parliament guarantees Chinese coal plant loan in contempt of EU law
March 8, 2019
The Bosnia-Herzegovina Federal House of Representatives yesterday approved an illegal loan guarantee for a EUR 614 million China Exim Bank loan for the Tuzla 7 coal power plant, in blunt contempt of its commitment to abide by EU law on subsidies under the Energy Community Treaty.
Energy Community: Bosnia-Herzegovina guarantee for Chinese loan for Tuzla 7 is state aid, breaks EU law
March 5, 2019
The Energy Community confirmed today that the loan guarantee the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliament wants to approve for the EUR 614 million China Exim Bank loan for the Tuzla 7 coal power plant indeed constitutes state aid according to EU law. The Energy Community had commissioned an expert analysis to look into the issue following a complaint by Aarhus Resource Centre and Bankwatch.
Milestone bank summit in Belgrade a step towards protecting Balkan rivers, but greater transparency still needed
March 1, 2019
For immediate release. Belgrade – The ‘Save the Blue Heart of Europe’ campaign [1] gave a cautious welcome to a first-of-its-kind summit between the financial sector and green activists, where a roundtable about the role of banks in the destruction of Balkan rivers by hydropower dams was centre stage.
Bosnia-Herzegovina politicians defy investigation to approve Chinese loan guarantee for coal power plant
February 26, 2019
The Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliament looks set to approve a loan guarantee for a EUR 614 million China Exim Bank loan for the Tuzla 7 coal power this Thursday, 28 February, [1], despite an ongoing Energy Community investigation into its compliance with State aid legislation.
EU action on Western Balkans’ chronic coal pollution is a unique opportunity to improve health and productivity
February 19, 2019
Brussels – Sixteen outdated coal power plants in the Western Balkans are a public health and economic liability for the whole of Europe, with people in the EU bearing the majority of the health impacts and costs, according to a new report [1] by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Sandbag, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, CEE Bankwatch Network and Europe Beyond Coal. The European Union (EU) needs to use all of the tools available to improve health, prolong lives, save health costs and increase productivity both in the EU and in the Western Balkan region.
EU Parliament shirks responsibility for climate action in future funding of Europe’s most needy regions
February 14, 2019
Brussels, for immediate release – A vote today by the Parliament on the future European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Funds for 2021-2027 opens the possibilities for continued funding of fossil fuels, in spite of the EU’s obligations to reduce greenhouse gases under the Paris Agreement and its net-zero emissions Long Term Strategy.
European Parliament greenlights clean cohesion policy
February 13, 2019
Today the members of the European Parliament adopted the Common Provisions Regulation, which sets the principles and common rules on how Cohesion Policy funding should be spent from 2021 to 2027. Civil society groups CEE Bankwatch Network and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe welcome the agreed climate-friendly provisions, including the exclusion of fossil fuel investments, but they must be reflected in tomorrow’s vote on the Regional Development Fund in order to become reality.
The EU’s bank downplayed climate risk in granting record loans to Europe’s largest fossil fuel project
February 7, 2019
Brussels – In a complaint lodged today with the European Investment Bank (EIB), civil society groups protest that the bank systematically underestimated the climate footprint of a fossil fuel mega project, the Southern Gas Corridor, which helped justify providing it with major financial support using EU public money.
