The great coal jobs fraud – unrealistic employment claims in southeast Europe
November 14, 2016
This report reveals how and why promises for new jobs in south-east Europe’s coal sector are exaggerated. Hardly any coal operations across the region are economically viable, and as a result many coal workers, especially in the mines, are set to lose their jobs, even if the plans for countless new power plants materialise. Governments, coal workers and their wider communities need to work together towards a just transition.
Lawsuits and complaints pile up against planned Bosnia and Herzegovina coal power plants
October 17, 2016
Sarajevo-based environmental watchdog Ekotim has submitted on Friday (October 14) an official complaint to the Energy Community dispute settlement mechanism (1) due to lax pollution limits for a new Chinese-backed 450 MW unit at the Tuzla coal power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Guest post: China stokes global coal growth
September 27, 2016
China cuts coal at home but state owned companies and banks drive new coal expansion overseas, despite top level promises of green growth for developing countries, writes Beth Walker from China Dialogue.
Balkan energy projects with Chinese involvement – state of play
July 31, 2016
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania all plan new lignite power plants during the next few years. In contrast, most EU countries are giving up building new coal plants and seven EU states are already coal-free. Since the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank have virtually halted lending for new coal power plants, most of them are due to be financed by Chinese state banks – ExIm Bank and the China Development Bank.
In contrast to the EU, Western Balkans’ coal investments still heavily outweigh wind – but for how long?
May 27, 2016
Last year in the EU, 12.8 GW of wind power capacity was installed – more than any other electricity generation source. This means that wind can now generate 11.4% of the EU electricity consumption in a normal wind year, according to Wind Europe. At the same time Belgium and Scotland have shut down their last coal plants, signalling the golden days of coal are far behind them.
Western Balkans countries invest at least 2.4 times as much in coal as in wind power
May 26, 2016
All the Western Balkans countries have committed to increase their share of renewable energy by 2020 to reach between 25 and 40 percent of their energy mix, as part of their obligations under the Energy Community Treaty. Yet this is far from obvious when examining their investment plans for new power generation capacity. Governments are actively planning to build 2800 MW of new coal plants with construction cost of at least EUR 4.5 billion. In contrast, these countries are only planning to build around 1166 MW of wind power plants, at an estimated cost of EUR 1.89 billion.
Western Balkan countries invest more than twice as much in coal as in wind power: new Bankwatch analysis
May 26, 2016
Western Balkan countries are planning investments in wind power, but these are being heavily outweighed by their investments in coal plants, according to a CEE Bankwatch Network analysis launched today. The region’s governments are actively planning 2800 MW of new coal plants but allowing only around 1166 MW of wind power plants to be built.
Balkan energy projects with Chinese involvement – state of play, May 2016
May 5, 2016
See a more recent version of this briefing >>
Bosnia and Herzegovina signs deal for Tuzla 7 coal plant construction – but its economics are shrouded in mystery
May 4, 2016
In spite of an updated construction contract for a new unit at the Tuzla coal-fired power plant, the project’s economic feasibility remains a puzzle with missing pieces.
The hefty health toll of coal burning in the Western Balkans – and what is not being done about it
March 16, 2016
While the Energy Community yesterday failed to consider more stringent air pollution rules for the Western Balkans, a new report quantifies the health costs of the region’s coal burning both within the region itself as well as in the neighbouring European Union.
