New opportunities for eastern Europe if the EU’s bank ramps up climate ambition and quits fossil fuels
June 13, 2019
Ahead of the European Investment Bank’s annual governors’ meeting, several EU’s finance ministers put forward a joint non-paper “Climate for the future of Europe” with an idea to transform the EIB: make green financing its top priority and promote investments in energy and climate transition. The right initiative risks failing if not supported by the majority of the bank’s shareholders, in particular by the eastern states that wrongfully fear that EIB’s increasing ambition in climate finance will unfavorably impact the bank’s presence in their countries.
Croatian NGOs file court case to prevent resurrection of Plomin 1 coal plant
April 9, 2019
Zelena akcija/Friends of the Earth Croatia and Green Istria have filed a court case challenging the decision to extend the Plomin 1 coal power plant’s environmental permit, it was announced today.
EU-China summit an opportunity to tackle Chinese support for coal in southeast Europe
April 8, 2019
Brussels – With the EU-China summit kicking off in Brussels on April 9, Bankwatch launches a new analysis [1] showing 3.5 GW of new coal may be built in southeast Europe with Chinese support, including in EU member states Romania and Greece.
Chinese-financed coal projects in Southeast Europe
April 8, 2019
EU member states Romania and Greece, as well as several EU enlargement countries in the Western Balkans, plan to build new lignite power plants. The Balkan coal plans starkly conflict with the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting climate change to 1.5°C b
Slovak aspects of the EIB Energy Lending Policy
March 31, 2019
One of the biggest challenges in Slovakia is to ensure systematic support for the development of decentralised, non-fossil and sustainable energy system. The European Investment Bank (EIB) already invested far too much into fossil gas (77 per cent of a
When the EU’s bank can’t kick the fossil fuels habit
March 27, 2019
As the European Investment Bank (EIB) is nowadays preparing a new Energy Lending Policy to guide its investment in energy projects, it seems the world’s largest public lender is not willing to acknowledge its contribution to climate change, the biggest crisis currently facing humanity.
Energy Community: Western Balkan coal subsidies worth over 1.2 billion euros in 2017
March 25, 2019
For immediate release. Energy Community countries propped up coal mining and electricity generation with direct and indirect public subsidies totalling at least 2.4 billion annually, out of which around half were provided by Western Balkan countries, shows a study (1) released today by the Vienna-based Secretariat of the Energy Community Treaty, the international treaty working to integrate the energy markets of the EU with those of its neighbours.
Romania’s dodgy math: will the country retire 2.2 GW of coal by the end of 2019?
March 13, 2019
Romania’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) contains dodgy maths that seems to imply the country will retire 2.2 GW of coal by the end of 2019, according to an analysis of the document published today by Bankwatch Romania.
Coal in the Romanian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP)
March 13, 2019
Romania was among the countries which managed to submit its draft NECP before the deadline at the end of 2018. This came at a cost – a very limited period for consultations (only ten days), a fact which was signalled by most interested stakeholders. Th
Energy Community: Bosnia-Herzegovina guarantee for Chinese loan for Tuzla 7 is state aid, breaks EU law
March 5, 2019
The Energy Community confirmed today that the loan guarantee the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliament wants to approve for the EUR 614 million China Exim Bank loan for the Tuzla 7 coal power plant indeed constitutes state aid according to EU law. The Energy Community had commissioned an expert analysis to look into the issue following a complaint by Aarhus Resource Centre and Bankwatch.
