Georgia swept by protests against EBRD-backed hydropower
May 11, 2016
Protests have in recent weeks broken out across rural Georgia after construction resumed on several large hydropower projects financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Demonstrators have complained that the projects were repeatedly decided behind closed doors, and that poor assessments of the social and environmental consequences mean their livelihoods are under threat.
Update on resettlements at Kolubara mine and other EPS operations
May 11, 2016
In October 2015 the independent Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development found that the bank breached its environmental and social policy with regards to safeguarding the rights of communities impacted by mining operations of the Serbian state energy company EPS.
Balkan energy projects with Chinese involvement – state of play, May 2016
May 5, 2016
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Briefing: Nenskra hydropower plant, Georgia
April 29, 2016
This briefing was prepared and presented during the annual meetings of the Asian Development Bank on 2 May 2016 in Frankfurt.
Briefing on Nenskra hydropower plant for the Asian Development Bank
April 28, 2016
Fossil fuel subsidies from Europe’s carbon market
April 27, 2016
The so called Article 10c of the EU ETS Directive allows lower-income Member States from central and eastern Europe to give allowances for free to electricity installations under the condition that they invest at least the equivalent monetary value of the free allowances in the modernisation and diversification of their energy systems. This briefing contains a detailed review of the experience so far and offers recommendations for the post 2020-period.
ETS Modernisation Fund – catalysing the clean energy transformation in central and eastern Europe
April 11, 2016
Within the framework of the EU’s 2030 climate and energy policies, the Modernisation Fund aims to support lower-income Member States in meeting their investment needs related to energy efficiency, including financing small-scale investments projects and the modernisation of energy systems. Based on experience with funding mechanisms at the European Investment Bank, the European Commission and the EU budget, this briefing recommends several structural elements for the establishment of the Fund.
Lost in transition – 25 years of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
April 11, 2016
This report examines a selection of cases monitored by CEE Bankwatch Network and its partners in recent years and highlights some of the weaknesses observed in the EBRD’s approach to environmental, social, democracy and development issues. On 15 April 2016 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will mark its 25th anniversary. This opportunity should kick-start a debate about what the London-based public bank has achieved since it started operations in 1991 and to reflect on its future.
Where the grass is less green. Public funding for energy in the European Neighbourhood Policy
April 7, 2016
Countries of the European Neighbourhood have received a boost to their energy sectors in the last decade, thanks in part to the prominent role played by the EU as a catalyst of both policy reforms and financing. This study examines EU financing for the energy sector in 16 countries of the European Neighbourhood between 2007 and 2014.
Complaint: Maladministration in the EIB’s appraisal and monitoring of the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos
April 6, 2016
Eleven years after the European Investment Bank’s decision to support the construction of the
