A well-designed national energy efficiency fund in North Macedonia will enable long-term energy savings in the residential and public sectors
December 20, 2024
National energy efficiency funds are widely recognised as a highly effective mechanism for boosting investment across all sectors. However, their success depends on careful design and implementation.
Western Balkans: Civil society groups call on European Commission to strengthen support for just transition
October 4, 2024
A group of civil society organisations, including CEE Bankwatch Network, are calling on the European Commission and other actors to step up support for a just transition in coal-dependent communities in the Western Balkans.
How to advance a just transition in the Western Balkans: Recommendations for the EU and national institutions
September 27, 2024
This briefing takes stock of the current situation with the decarbonisation of the Western Balkans’s economy and summarises the progress on just transition in each country.
The EU’s proposed Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans
March 7, 2024
This briefing provides key recommendations to define clearer and narrower goals for the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, focusing on social and/or environmental goals.
The Western Balkans residential Green Economy Financing Facility: Results so far and recommendations for further action
January 31, 2024
This briefing assesses the effectiveness of the energy efficiency credit lines for households financed through the Green Economy Financing Facility, in terms of environmental sustainability and attractiveness for users in all six Western Balkan countries.
Moving Western Balkan district heating systems away from fossil fuels
November 21, 2022
With winter fast approaching, the need for efficient, clean and affordable district heating in communities throughout the Western Balkans is pressing.
The heroic dust monitor
July 22, 2021
This year we are marking five years since Bankwatch engaged in air pollution work in the Balkans. Throughout these years, there was one constant in the work – the environmental dust monitor. It has become the hero of many communities and is known to every organisation in the region that works for cleaner air.
Western Balkan coal power plants polluted twice as much as those in the EU in 2019
July 12, 2021
The non-compliance of Western Balkan coal power plants with the emission limits enshrined in the Energy Community Treaty is reflected in the region’s high sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and dust emissions. This briefing looks mainly at th
Eight steps for a just transition in the Western Balkans
May 18, 2021
Eight steps for a just transition aims to encourage national campaigners, civil movements, and local activists to begin the just transition process in their communities. Based on Bankwatch’s experience working with just transition countries in central
12 years and counting: Pollution control investment at Bosnia’s Ugljevik coal plant still showing no results
February 16, 2021
Upgrades to the coal power plants in the Western Balkans that would bring down sulphur dioxide emissions are rare. But even where investments have been made, they have so far failed to deliver the much-needed results.
