3:1 against Ombla, Croatia must stop gung-ho investment
June 20, 2012
3 out of 4 experts gave a negative opinion on the environmental study of the Ombla hydropower plant. Now the Croatian government must heed their warnings and stop the project.
Revealed: EBRD climate crimes rising
May 17, 2012
EBRD efforts to clean up its energy lending in central and eastern Europe are being undermined by extensive fossil fuel investments, with astonishing increases in the EBRD’s backing for coal and oil projects in 2011.
Ombla hydropower project under fire in the European Parliament
May 14, 2012
The 68 MW Ombla underground hydropower project, for which the EBRD approved a EUR 123.2 loan in 22 November 2011, is once again under fire, this time in the European Parliament. Both the project itself and its approval process have attracted widespread criticism from civil society and biodiversity experts as the project location forms part of a future Natura 2000 site. In 2008 the Croatian State Institute for Nature Protection declared the project “unacceptable for nature”.
Corporate largesse meets scepticism at World Water Forum
March 21, 2012
Criticism and protests around the World Water Forum have highlighted the risk of hydropower projects being greenwashed and the dangers these installations can pose to people and nature in many countries.
The European Commission, an EBRD shareholder that should start acting like one
March 1, 2012
Recent Balkan hydro projects suggest the European Commission could make much better use of its shareholder role in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Destroying future NATURA 2000 sites in the Balkans. The European Commission’s role in steering the EBRD’s investments
March 1, 2012
The letter complains about the EU’s negligence of its shareholder role in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and its lack of scrutiny of two recently approved projects that are set to contravene EU principles and standards: the Ombla hyrdopower plant in Croatia and the Boskov Most HPP in Macedonia.
Ombla hydropower plant, Croatia
February 29, 2012
An underground hydropower plant was planned in a natural habitat of global significance. The project’s assessments were plagued by oddities and could not be considered complete. Despite all of this, the EBRD initially approved a EUR 123 million loan. In May 2013, under increasing pressure from civil society groups, the EBRD eventually pulled out of the project.
Confirmatory application regarding disclosure of results of the interservice consultation for Ombla hydropower plant
February 29, 2012
The EBRD’s Board of Directors approved the Ombla hyrdopower plant project on 22 November 2011, before an assessment had been carried out regarding the project’s impact on a proposed Natura 2000 site. In addition the project is being carried out on the basis of an Environmental Impact Assessment study from 1999, whose content may not fully reflect the requirements of EU legislation in this area.
Letter: European Commission should make use of its shareholder role in the EBRD
February 28, 2012
A look at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s investments in the Ombla hydropower plant in Croatia and the Boskov Most plant in Macedonia reveals that the EU does not make full use of its shareholder role in the Bank and allows approval of the projects that contravene EU principles and standards. Read more on our blog:
Enquiry regarding the Natura 2000 assessment process of the Ombla hydropower plant
February 27, 2012
More information on the Ombla hydropower plant project is available on our website. The EBRD replied to our enquiry on March 1, 2012. Their answer can be downloaded as pdf.
