Croatia, Italy and Colombia linked by harm from coal industry
February 22, 2016
Last Tuesday activists from Croatia, Italy and Colombia formed a human chain in front of the Plomin coal power plant to highlight that the real price of coal is human lives – at both ends of the chain of production.
Fundusze europejskie: Unia ostrzega, że Polska może zmarnować miliardy euro. Przez węgiel
February 11, 2016
Miliardy euro, które z unijnego budżetu mają być przeznaczane na przejście od gospodarki opartej na węglu w kierunku ekonomii niskoemisyjnej, mogą być zmarnowane przez kraje Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej – alarmują organizacje pozarządowe. Taki wniosek płynie z raportu CEE Bankwatch Network i Friends of the Earth Europe, który współfinansowała UE. Organizacje opisały w ponad 150-stronicowej publikacji analizę planów inwestycyjnych i strategii klimatycznych 9 krajów Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej. Raport dotyczy polskich inwestycji w ramach funduszy europejskich
Turceni coal unit in Romania shut down after operating illegally
February 4, 2016
The shut down of a coal-fired power plant unit is another great success for the climate and for clean air in Romania. Many more units may have to follow according to legislation on pollution limits.
Issues with Serbian electricity company EPS need to be addressed within new EBRD loan
February 1, 2016
As part of its new EUR 200 million loan to the Serbian electricity company EPS, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development aims to assist with “identifying opportunities to improve environmental, safety, social, and labour governance and capacity, and on helping EPS to develop a more strategic approach to managing these issues”. As outlined in this briefing, so far the EBRD’s fifteen-year partnership with EPS has not brought visible improvements in company practices and it is high time for the bank to prove that its engagement can add value.
Bring on the money, don’t ask for results. EU funds spending plans in the Czech Republic
January 28, 2016
The Czech Republic’s EU funds’ documents tick all the formal boxes, but the carbon intensity of its economy will most likely not change much.
NEW REPORT: Misguided spending by enfants terribles is undermining Europe’s transition to a fossil-free future
January 26, 2016
Brussels/Prague, 25 January 2016 – EU billions destined to transform the carbon-intensive, inefficient energy systems of central and eastern Europe are being misspent, finds a new report today by CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe. Bad spending plans and a lack of climate commitments from nine central and eastern European governments is hampering Europe’s transition away from fossil fuels, the groups say.
Power-hungry China stubbornly holds on to coal-fired power
January 12, 2016
China is awfully torn between coal power reduction and further growing its exports. When the OECD agreed to restrict subsidies for coal-fired power plants’ exports, both investors and the press had a field day. It was a big step in curbing the growth of global coal-fired power generation and it could have been a phenomenal day for the power industry–except that China, the biggest elephant in the room, was missing when the coal power reduction pact was made.
COP21 : la Roumanie respire mieux depuis la fin du communisme
December 11, 2015
Marquée par un demi siècle de productivisme forcené au temps du communisme, la Roumanie fait aujourd’hui figure de bon élève dans la lutte contre le changement climatique. Entre 1989 et 2013, Bucarest a fait chuter ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre de 65%. Mais cela est surtout dû à la désindustrialisation accélérée plus qu’à une politique environnementale volontariste. Explications.
Na zielonej Ukrainie duże problemy z ekologią
November 28, 2015
– Zabili mi wszystkie ryby i jeszcze bezczelnie kłamią, że nic się nie stało – mówi Roman Iwanowicz Depa i pokazuje zdjęcia. Depa hoduje ryby w zbiorniku wodnym przy elektrociepłowni w Dobrotworze. Siłownia należy do oligarchy Rinata Achmatowa i jego koncernu DTEK. W noc przed wyborami prezydenckimi z 24 na 25 maja zeszłego roku w elektrowni doszło do awarii i do jeziora wypuszczono wodę o temperaturze ponad 40 st. Dopuszczalna norma to 32 st.
Kosovo aims to secure largest ever investment amid political crisis
November 26, 2015
Pristina is moving towards a deal with US-based ContourGlobal on the planned Kosova e Re power plant, which at a cost of €1bn will be the largest investment in the country’s history. The government says the project will solve Kosovo’s chronic electricity shortages by replacing the aging Kosova A thermal power plant – considered Europe’s worst polluter – with a modern 500MW plant. However, the strong opposition to the plans to build a new coal-fired power plant close to the capital could add to the ongoing unrest within Kosovo.