Investment Plan for Europe more climate friendly, but European Parliament shows little ambition
May 16, 2017
Today in Strasburg, the European Parliament lead committees have brought the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) closer to compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement. However, they have once again fallen short of eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, which stand in the way of climate action.
Italian authorities overrun communities in a bid to enable Europe’s dash for gas
May 8, 2017
In a last minute attempt to force facts on the ground, the Italian authorities have enabled the removal of a group of olive trees to make room for a future construction site of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), despite an earlier agreement between the company and local institutions. Nevertheless, the company has not been able to clear the site by the official deadline and the residents have vowed to step up their protest against the largest energy project the EU is currently pursuing.
Planned power plants in the Balkans need review as EU adopts tougher pollution standards
April 28, 2017
The European Union has today approved an updated set of binding standards for power plants, which include new, stricter pollution limits. In the Western Balkans, planned new coal capacities are most likely to be affected by the updated regulations.
Overlooked carbon costs could turn Western Balkans’ new coal power plants into white elephants – analysis
March 29, 2017
A new Bankwatch analysis examining ten coal-fired power plant projects across the Western Balkans finds that, once the cost of carbon emissions allowances are factored in, they could become a serious liability for both the companies involved and the public. Moreover, only a few feasibility assessments for coal power plants in the region are publicly available, and most of those have failed to properly take carbon costs into account, the briefing authors note.
Azerbaijan suspended from the EITI – a Bankwatch and Counter Balance statement
March 10, 2017
A decision to suspend Azerbaijan’s membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) adopted yesterday (Mar 9) is the latest reminder for international financial institutes to avoid supporting the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project.
EU watchdog investigating European Investment Bank for maladministration
March 6, 2017
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is being investigated for maladministration, after the European Ombudsman sent a formal letter opening the case this week (27 February 2017).
Bulgaria risks unnecessary breach of nature laws, threatening EUR 800 million of EU funding
March 2, 2017
The building of an EU-funded motorway linking Bulgaria and Greece, through Kresna Gorge – a stunning wildlife haven protected by EU nature laws – would be a disaster for nature and local people, and could result in up to €781 million being returned to the European Commission, claim Bulgarian and international NGO experts.
Destructive hydropower project in Macedonia loses its only source of funding
January 23, 2017
Skopje, Prague – After a five years long campaign, Eko-svest, Front 21/42 and CEE Bankwatch Network welcome the cancellation of a EUR 65 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intended for the Boškov Most hydropower project in Macedonia. As a result this controversial project is now highly unlikely to be realised.
World Bank’s controversial TANAP loan is bad news for human rights and climate action
December 21, 2016
Yesterday, the World Bank’s board of directors approved two USD 400 million loans, to Azerbaijan and to Turkey, to develop the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), the centrepiece of the Southern Gas Corridor project. CEE Bankwatch Network and Counter Balance are deeply concerned that the decision to channel such large amounts of money to Europe’s biggest fossil fuels project could exacerbate the already dismal human rights situation in both Azerbaijan and Turkey, and undermine the global efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
Revealed: the EU’s flagship energy project is built by companies with a legacy of corruption
December 14, 2016
No less than 15 firms contracted to build the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), the two main sections of the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, have been implicated in various forms of corruption in the past, according to a CEE Bankwatch Network report published today.
