European Commission fuels hydrogen fantasies – but MEPs can still halt the next array of fossil fuel follies
December 1, 2025
A bill tabled today by the European Commission foresees a massive build-up of hydrogen projects, despite growing expert consensus that hydrogen can only thwart Europe’s decarbonisation efforts.
Preferential status for hydrogen infrastructure could cement Europe’s dependence on fossil gas
October 29, 2025
As the European Commission puts the final touches on a list of priority energy projects brimming with hydrogen infrastructure, both civil society and EU agencies are warning that a hydrogen expansion risks undermining the energy transition.
Six Member States looking to expand gas, waste and nuclear energy with billions from EU climate fund
October 6, 2025
Intended to drive the energy transition in the EU’s lower-income Member States, the Modernisation Fund has been doling out billions to fossil gas and other harmful energy infrastructure.
Dead end ahead: How gas plans are distracting the Western Balkans from the energy transition
September 25, 2025
This briefing provides an update on gas build-out plans in the Western Balkans since March 2023 and finds that they have remained remarkably steady in the last two years, despite increasing risks and financing challenges.
Dead end ahead for Western Balkan gas plans, shows new analysis
September 25, 2025
Western Balkan governments’ gas build-out plans remain as high as two years ago despite increasing risks of failure or stranded assets, finds a new briefing published today by CEE Bankwatch Network and Beyond Fossil Fuels (1).
Citizens urge Montenegrin government to halt gas deal with Japanese energy giant
September 9, 2025
A group of 40 non-governmental organisations, citizens, experts and environmental activists today sent an open letter to the Government of Montenegro and the Minister of Energy and Mining, Admir Šahmanović, calling for the suspension of the signing of a memorandum of understanding with JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company. The agreement concerns the proposed development of fossil gas projects in Montenegro, including a gas-fired power plant and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal with associated infrastructure. The agreement is set to be signed during the 2025 Gastech conference in Milan, taking place between 9 and 12 September.
The Connecting Europe Facility for Energy: Funding fiction, failing climate
July 15, 2025
The Clean Industrial Deal envisions an expansion of both hydrogen and carbon capture throughout the EU. The experts’ prevailing view is that hydrogen can only advance the energy transition in a few hard-to-abate sectors, and there are serious concerns over the very viability of carbon capture, especially at scale. Yet our latest analysis reveals that a little-known EU infrastructure fund has been handing out hundreds of millions to these dubious technologies.
Flawed by design: How the Connecting Europe Facility still backs the fossil-fuel industry
July 8, 2025
We expose the role of the Connecting Europe Facility, a little-known EU infrastructure fund, in feeding the hydrogen hoopla.
EU climate fund shrinks support for dirty energy
July 4, 2025
In its largest investment round to date, the EU’’s Modernisation Fund extended support to multiple schemes and projects to advance the energy transition, but damaging projects still get a slice.
Serbia’s district heating crisis: Gas dependence fuels price volatility
July 1, 2025
Serbia’s district heating sector is facing an unprecedented crisis, driven by an overreliance on imported fossil fuels – particularly fossil gas – and an inability to control energy prices. This dependence puts the sector at a significant risk of collapse in the coming years, threatening the basic heating needs of millions of citizens. It also underscores the urgent need for the Serbian government to diversify the district heating system by integrating sustainable renewable energy sources.
