[Campaign update] EU urged to act on Western Balkans smog after alarming pollution levels were found
June 26, 2017
Results of more than half a year of independent air pollution monitoring in the Balkans have been launched today. During a conference at the European Parliament today, MEPs, European Commission and Energy Community representatives, NGOs and citizens groups called for urgent action on air pollution in the Western Balkans.
Planned coal power in the Balkans will breach new EU pollution standards – analysis
June 14, 2017
Almost none of the new coal power plants planned in the Western Balkans will meet new, stricter EU pollution standards, according to a new analysis by CEE Bankwatch Network, released today.
Planned power plants in the Balkans need review as EU adopts tougher pollution standards
April 28, 2017
The European Union has today approved an updated set of binding standards for power plants, which include new, stricter pollution limits. In the Western Balkans, planned new coal capacities are most likely to be affected by the updated regulations.
Balkans are gambling on coal as EU utilities opt out
April 12, 2017
Eurelectric members have pledged to build no new coal power stations from 2020. So why do firms in Serbia and Bosnia still think they can make coal pay?
Western Balkans are massively expanding coal power – but the new plants may have to be closed again soon
March 29, 2017
Plans for new lignite power plants in Western Balkan countries do not take into account the effect of CO2 prices, according to a new Bankwatch study. As a result, the plants risk becoming uncompetitive in the future, with taxpayers footing the bill.
Overlooked carbon costs could turn Western Balkans’ new coal power plants into white elephants – analysis
March 29, 2017
A new Bankwatch analysis examining ten coal-fired power plant projects across the Western Balkans finds that, once the cost of carbon emissions allowances are factored in, they could become a serious liability for both the companies involved and the public. Moreover, only a few feasibility assessments for coal power plants in the region are publicly available, and most of those have failed to properly take carbon costs into account, the briefing authors note.
Carbon costs for planned coal power plants in the Western Balkans and the risk of stranded assets
March 29, 2017
This briefing analyses ten coal-fired power plant projects across the Western Balkans and finds that, once the cost of carbon emissions allowances are factored in, they could become a serious liability for both the companies involved and the public.
New cases at UN and EU bodies against Ukraine’s prolongation of nuclear licenses
November 8, 2016
As pressure from civil society and governments is mounting, UN and EU bodies acknowledge Ukraine’s lack of accountability for plans to extend the lifetime of its nuclear fleet. The country could be found in breach of international law. Once again.
A ray of light for communities in Serbia’s coal heartland
July 22, 2016
For more than 50 years, the lignite mines in Serbia’s Kolubara basin have been expanding, effectively engulfing the few small communities living between them. For local residents, whose homes have quite literally been teetering on the brink of the mines, life has become unbearable. But a recent court ruling might be paving the way to a long overdue reprieve for residents who have been promised to be relocated.
Western Balkan countries invest more than twice as much in coal as in wind power: new Bankwatch analysis
May 26, 2016
Western Balkan countries are planning investments in wind power, but these are being heavily outweighed by their investments in coal plants, according to a CEE Bankwatch Network analysis launched today. The region’s governments are actively planning 2800 MW of new coal plants but allowing only around 1166 MW of wind power plants to be built.
