Publications

As the EIB revises its Environmental and Social Standards, this report presents eight hydropower schemes in central and eastern Europe either financed or under consideration by the Bank. The projects – some financed directly and others via intermediaries such as commercial b…

This joint civil society statement prepared by 12 civil society organisations outlines our recommendations for integrating human rights into the EIB’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework, by proposing specific improvements to the Policy and Standards. NGOs and…

The Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport is located 16 kilometres from the centre of Budapest. With a licence for a capacity of 6 million passengers per year and 15 million in the peak year of 2019, new plans to develop the airport aim to increase passenger turnover t…

The Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) is one of the biggest concerns in the implementation of just transition support. This Principle should ensure that polluters bear the costs of their pollution and are incentivised to avoid environmental damage. However, in just transition pr…

The European Investment Bank’s (EIB) financial intermediaries (FIs) help the EIB to reach smaller clients than it would otherwise be able to finance. The EIB’s global lending via intermediaries amounted to EUR 22.6 billion in 2020. In the EU, credit lines via intermediaries…

Bankwatch, together with civil society organisations worldwide, is closely following the ongoing review of the EIB’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF). The draft Environmental and Social Policy and related standards proposed by the EIB hugely fail to t…

Bankwatch, together with civil society organisations worldwide, is closely following the ongoing review of the EIB’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF). In this context, we sent several joint CSO submissions highlighting concrete recommendations for the…

Poland is one of the countries in central and eastern Europe that plans to use European funds to finance just transition in their coal regions. In order to receive the funds, these regions will need to prepare Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs). The TJTPs detail the r…

This report documents the power plants and coal mines in Romania in order to understand their negative impact on the environment, economy and public health and support a more rapid coal phase-out. The analysis was performed based on information collected by Bankwatch Romania…

As the European Commission is currently reviewing the Romanian Recovery and Resilience Plan, there is a risk that billions of euros in public money might end up supporting the fossil fuels industry. This briefing provides an analysis of the recovery plan’s energy component….

Biodiversity loss and climate change are the biggest environmental threats we face today. To address such crises, the EU has set in place a series of climate and environmental objectives as part of the European Green Deal. However, in order to achieve these objectives, signi…

The briefing outlines proposals for widespread irrigation and water management measures within six central and eastern European recovery plans and explains why these measures will likely be damaging to biodiversity. These include the development of intensive irrigation, drai…