REPowerEU is a chance to prioritise renovating buildings in Latvia
November 30, 2022
Energy consumed in the residential sector accounts for up to 30 per cent of Latvia’s energy usage. Approximately 23,000 multi-apartment buildings need to be renovated, but only 1,600 buildings have been insulated since 2009, a renovation rate of 0.5 per year. Will Latvia seize the chance and use REPowerEU chapters for renovation?
Leaked World Bank report depicts Georgia’s Nenskra hydropower project as major liability
November 14, 2018
Successive international analyses have cast serious doubts over the financial viability of the planned Nenskra plant. While the Georgian government keeps the project’s contract confidential, a leaked World Bank report offers a scathing account of the fiscal implications of this hydropower development.
Controversial dam project in Georgia abandoned by constructor
October 30, 2018
Already mired by controversy, the billion dollar Nenskra hydropower plant is now facing another major hurdle as the company contracted to realize the project is now leaving it.
Azerbaijan’s Laundromat scandal raises concerns over the EU’s growing business ties with the authoritarian regime
September 6, 2017
Revelations about the Azerbaijani Laundromat corruption scheme raise serious concerns over the EU’s intensifying relationship with the government in Baku and its readiness to turn a blind eye to the country’s human rights abuses and offer loans of millions of euros to a massive gas infrastructure project that would fill the pockets of the Azerbaijani corrupted elite.
Will energy efficiency be sidelined in the Energy Union’s implementation?
June 8, 2015
EU energy ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss the implementation of the Energy Union. Looking at what has been discussed so far, the strategy may not prioritise energy efficiency enough to help Europe become climate-friendly.
Pipe Dreams: Why the Southern Gas Corridor will not reduce EU dependency on Russia
January 21, 2015
Brussels – The Southern Gas Corridor, the EU’s new pet energy project, is not only unnecessary in light of gas demand projections, but also seems likely to fall short on the much flaunted goal of bringing energy independence from Russia, according to a new NGO study “Pipe Dreams” published today.
Proposed Lukoil EBRD loan – for whose benefit?
December 22, 2014
Despite the Russian invasion in Ukraine leading to EU and US sanctions against Moscow and major Russian energy companies, public banks supported by EU countries are gearing up to offer almost a billion dollars in financial support to Russian company Lukoil for gas extraction in Azerbaijan.
EBRD sticks to business as usual despite Ukraine facing war and severe shortages
November 21, 2014
With Ukraine’s ongoing fight for sovereignty and integrity emphasising once more the country’s energy vulnerability in front of Russia, the need to radically reform the Ukrainian energy sector became crucial for the survival of the country. And yet, moves in this direction are way too slow. Despite positive rhetoric on the need to prioritise energy efficiency, some European donors such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development continue with business as usual, spending huge resources on large infrastructure projects that do not address the country’s immediate need for improved energy security.
New facts are busting energy myths
July 18, 2013
Adequate decision making on energy policies must be based on accurate information and cannot rely on outdated knowledge and misconceptions. A new series of fact sheets explores the myths and facts of Europe’s energy sector.
New nuclear risks in Ukraine – decision expected tomorrow
March 11, 2013
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is expected to take a decision tomorrow on whether or not to provide a EUR 300 million loan for a nuclear power plant Safety Upgrade Programme in Ukraine. This article from our quarterly Bankwatch Mail sums up the issues at hand.
