Publications

In 2009 the EBRD established the EUR 50 million facility to support the development of small-scale projects in all renewable energy generation sectors, including hydro, wind, biomass and solar power. While the initiative is welcomed and timely, the first projects to be devel…

The energy sector in Serbia is reminiscent of the industrial development strategy of the former socialist Yugoslavia, with thousands of megawatts of power plant capacities planned, and much of that production to be wasted, while people remain unable to afford their energy bi…

In recent years the EBRD has increased its funding for hydropower plants (HPPs) of all sizes. While small hydropower plants are seen by many as a far safer technology than large hydropower plants, they too can cause interruptions in river flows, loss of biodiversity and the…

Published to coincide with the EBRD’s annual meeting 2013 being held in Istanbul, this issue examines a developing controversial project in the bank’s newest region: a refinery expansion project in Cairo. Other fossil fuel investments by the EBRD also feature in the newslett…

EBRD policy must take a stance: will it limit the ways in which stakeholders interact with each other and with the environment by adopting technical and procedural solutions? Or will it aim to promote shifts in social relations, in line with its mandate to promote sustainabi…

These comments emphasise the EBRD’s Project Complaint Mechanism’s strengths and weaknesses. Bankwatch hopes they can lead to further improvements in the EBRD’s accountability mechanism.

The Boskov Most project involves the construction of a 33 metres-high accumulation dam and hydropower plant. It is mostly located in the territory of the Mavrovo National Park, one of the oldest and most valuable protected areas in the country. The EBRD approved the project…

The letter accompanied Bankwatch’s and other NGOs’ input to the public consultation on the proposed Projects of Energy Community Interest in the electricity, gas and oil sectors. With the letter, civil society groups jointly address several important matters about the proces…

Our input expresses our main concern relating to the need to develop an energy sector in southeast and eastern Europe that is in line with EU environmental and climate policies and legislation, as well as one which addresses the increasing problem of energy poverty through s…

With each passing day, there is less chance that we will manage to keep the planet within the “safe” limit of two degrees Celsius global warming that would avoid disastrous climate change. The European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development…