Serbia: Complaints over illegal operation of Morava coal power plant
June 23, 2023
A complaint by the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI) and CEE Bankwatch Network (1) challenging Serbia’s failure to comply with pollution control rules under the Energy Community Treaty was recorded yesterday by the the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna (2).
Green light for major Black Sea gas project will accelerate the climate crisis
June 21, 2023
Romania’s OMV-Petrom announced today its final investment decision on the Neptun Deep fossil gas project in the Black Sea. If built, this massive offshore development could be the final nail in the coffin for Romania’s—and the EU’s—commitments to stem the climate crisis.
EU Member States jeopardising economic recovery by locking citizens out of decision-making
June 20, 2023
EU Member States are exacerbating economic inequality, eroding democracy and obstructing efforts to create a green, transformative European economy by marginalising citizens in decision-making, a new report by the Citizens’ Observatory for Green Deal Financing reveals (20 June).
EU funds fossil gas in Poland and Romania despite climate goals
June 6, 2023
More than EUR 1.5 billion in EU funds has been provided to Poland and Romania for fossil gas projects since 2014. The two governments have earmarked even larger sums for the current EU budget period despite the bloc’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report released today by CEE Bankwatch Network.
European Commission urged to act on destructive hydropower projects in Romanian protected areas
May 11, 2023
Bankwatch Romania today submitted a complaint to the European Commission, seeking to reverse an Emergency Ordinance of the Romanian Government, which greenlights nine destructive hydropower projects (1) and is considered to breach three European Union Directives.
EU’s house bank breached environmental standards on Serbia hydropower project
April 14, 2023
The European Investment Bank (EIB) breached its environmental standards during the approval of the Komalj small hydropower plant in Serbia, the Bank’s Complaint Mechanism has concluded, in a report published today. (1)
Latvia abandons plans for controversial LNG terminal but still needs to ditch fossil gas
April 12, 2023
Latvia’s government announced yesterday (11 April) it is terminating plans for a liquified fossil gas (commonly termed liquified natural gas or LNG) terminal in Skulte.
NGOs take Romania to court in the country’s first climate lawsuit
April 6, 2023
Declic – one of Romania’s most important NGOs – has filed the country’s first ever climate lawsuit for the government’s failure to take appropriate measures to reduce and mitigate the foreseeable risks posed by the climate crisis. Climate activists from Declic also asked the court to issue Romanian Prime Minister Nicoale Ciucă and the Ministers of Environment and Energy with fines for every day of inaction. The case alleges that Romanian officials have breached their legal duties to adopt and implement an energy transition strategy that aligns with the Paris Agreement, keeping the global average temperature below a 1.5°C increase.
Western Balkans: EUR 3.5 billion gas build-out poses economic, energy security risks and threatens green transition
March 30, 2023
Prague, Czech Republic – Plans for EUR 3.5 billion of new gas-fired power plants, pipelines, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Western Balkans would force countries to import far more gas than they have in the past, introducing economic and energy security risks into the region’s already challenging energy transition, finds new research from Global Energy Monitor and Bankwatch.
Activists call on EU to better protect nature from energy infrastructure in the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova
March 14, 2023
60 civil society organisations have sent a joint letter to the EU Commissioner for Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, calling on the EU to better protect nature during energy infrastructure development under the Energy Community Treaty (1).
