Tbilisi Transport Policy and Reforms: Main Issues and Recommendations
August 22, 2023
In 2018, Tbilisi authorities set out to decrease the city’s car dependency, reduce traffic jams, improve air quality and develop better infrastructure for walking and cycling. But despite investment from the EBRD and ADB, there has been little improvement.
Cutting off the pipeline from REPowerEU to the fossil gas industry
July 27, 2023
In May 2022, the European Commission, in response to the energy crisis, launched the REPowerEU plan – a set of measures aimed at ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027. The plan emphasises the diversification of gas and oil supply sources, the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources by accelerating Europe’s clean energy transition, and the reduction of energy consumption, primarily gas, in the EU. Yet despite its ambitious scope, the plan excessively prioritises the interests of the fossil fuel industry.
Renewable energy permitting in Bosnia and Herzegovina: how to optimise the process while safeguarding the environment and public participation
July 25, 2023
This analysis begins with an overview of the permits required for building renewable energy facilities in the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS).
Initial Comments on the Proposal for a Regulation on establishing the Ukraine Facility
July 21, 2023
Together with Ukrainian civil society organisations Ecoaction and Razom We Stand, Bankwatch sent initial comments to the European Parliament on the proposed regulation on Ukraine Facility. To foster green reconstruction and bring Ukraine closer towards EU membership, the civil society groups argue that the Facility must prioritise public participation and environmental sustainability.
National energy and climate plans: catalysts for the energy transition or box-ticking exercises?
June 30, 2023
The following report shows how seven central and eastern European (CEE) countries are approaching the NECP revision and details how the context has changed since the initial NECPs were prepared in 2018 and 2019.
Sustainable renewables incentives – how are the Western Balkans doing?
June 29, 2023
In the decade leading up to 2020, the Western Balkans’ energy transition got off to a poor start, with governments limiting wind and solar investments and instead incentivising a small hydropower boom, which has damaged pristine rivers and streams across the region.
Hydrogen in the EIB’s reviewed energy lending policy
June 28, 2023
As the EIB reviews its Energy Lending Policy, Bankwatch and 33 other civil society groups, sent a joint letter o EIB Vice Presidents, to voice our concern about the over-emphasis on hydrogen which risks, among others, diverting renewable energy capacity – existing and planned – from the electricity grid and into the production of hydrogen for sectors that might not be playing a significant role in the energy transition.
Comply or Close 2023: five years of deadly legal breaches by Western Balkan coal plants
June 28, 2023
The end of 2022 marked five years since new air pollution standards entered into force in the Western Balkans on 1 January 2018. Yet the deadly air pollution from the region’s mostly antiquated coal power plants has hardly decreased at all. In fact, in 2022 it increased compared to 2021 for all three regulated pollutants
Agriculture: priorities for sustainable investments to aid Ukraine’s recovery
June 20, 2023
In this issue paper, we argue that the recovery of the agricultural sector should not solely focus on production growth goals but also prioritise the long-term sustainability of Ukraine as it progresses towards EU membership.
No recovery without citizens: why public involvement is key to Europe’s green transformation
June 20, 2023
The report has been written in the frame of the Citizens Observatory for Green Deal Financing project. It brings together the direct experience of nine different civil society organisations and includes seven individual case studies providing information from the ground.
