Bankwatch and Counter Balance statement on the adoption of the European Investment Bank Climate Strategy
September 22, 2015
“As Europe prepares to host the seminal UN climate summit in Paris at year’s end, the EU’s house bank is turning away from its commitment to finance the bloc’s climate action.
Jordan’s modern mirage: reporting from the Red Sea – Dead Sea Conveyance project
June 3, 2015
In November 2014 CEE Bankwatch Network visited Jordan to explore issues surrounding the Red Sea – Dead Sea Conveyance project. The aim of the mission was to understand better the problems, concerns and hopes of local communities living along the route of the project, and identify the risks and benefits of the project through interviews with specialists having knowledge of its development.
Input to EIB climate policy consultation
March 16, 2015
The comments were jointly submitted by Bankwatch, Counter Balance, Focus, urgewald, Both Ends, Estonian Green Movement, Transport and Environment, CEPA Slovakia and Latvian Green Movement.
Can the European Investment Bank move ahead of the pack on climate?
October 21, 2014
The European Investment Bank is gearing up for an increased role in spurring growth in Europe as set out by the new Juncker Commission. Yet as Europe’s 2030 climate targets are being undermined by some countries the bank that wants to be a leader in climate action must keep in mind that we can no longer afford growth without sustainability.
Can the EIB lead the European economy out of crisis by championing EU climate policy?
August 8, 2014
The European Investment Bank, the biggest multilateral public bank in the world by lending volume and the self-styled ‘EU bank’, has recently announced that it will be reviewing its approach to climate change in the coming months. According to comments made by EIB vice-president Philippe de Fontaine Vive to civil society representatives, “The EIB wants to position itself between this October’s anticipated EU 2030 climate agreement and the Paris COP 21 meeting in December 2015”.
Sharing the shale experience
July 29, 2014
Shale gas has become a focal point of interest for central and eastern European governments, with oil corporations (not only) from the West ready to start drilling as soon as possible. But protests have sparked across the region from Zurawlow in Poland to Pungesti in Romania. We spoke with two anti-fracking activists working on the Neuquén province in Argentina where the struggles of local communities against conventional oil and gas exploration are now amplified by even more problems related to unconventional fuels.
Opportunities and expectations towards the EIB climate policy review
July 24, 2014
After effectively phasing out lending to lignite and coal-fired power plants in its energy policy in 2013, the EIB is now reviewing its climate policy. This joint NGO letter expresses the expectations towards the EIB to align its lending further with climate science and the EU Roadmap 2050 by proposing a genuine strategy for the bank to phase out funding for projects that are detrimental to the climate and to mainstream climate considerations into each and every sector of operations the Bank is engaged in.
Expert proposals for Energy Community improvements are a promising step forward
June 18, 2014
South and eastern European member countries of the Energy Community may soon have to be much more ambitious about environmental standards in the energy sector. This is because the Energy Community, the body that aims to create a common energy market between the EU and some of its neighbours, may be about to introduce more of the EU environmental acquis into its Treaty.
Slovenia’s shoddy Šoštanj 6 busts the myth of cheap lignite power
March 20, 2014
Bankwatch has been monitoring and campaigning against the ill-conceived EBRD- and EIB-financed Unit 6 at Šoštanj in Slovenia for several years now. Yet the project never ceases to amaze with its myriad flaws and scandals – and the first few months of 2014 have been no exception.
Bosnia and Herzegovina lignite project triggers official complaint to the Energy Community
March 20, 2014
While governments in south-east Europe have been talking about building new lignite power plants for years, the only one under construction to date is Energy Financing Team’s (EFT) 300 MW Stanari plant in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rather than serving as an inspiration to others in the region, the project is an example of what not to do, as borne out by an official complaint submitted in January by NGOs Center for Environment from Banja Luka and ClientEarth to the Vienna-based Energy Community Treaty secretariat.
