Is Hungary and Slovakia’s district heating future in hot water?
September 2, 2022
This briefing, based on CEE Bankwatch Network’s fact-finding missions to Galanta and Veľký Meder, Slovakia and Szeged, Veresegyház, Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary in January and May 2022, presents examples of existing geothermal district heating systems in central and eastern Europe. It also makes recommendations to policy makers and financial institutions interested in implementing such systems in other parts of the region.
It’s time to put an end to EU funding of fossil gas
June 27, 2022
While EU households and industry face months without heating, exorbitant energy bills and insecurity, EU funds are driving an increase in the demand for gas in the region, a Bankwatch analysis of Modernisation Fund spending shows.
Narrow road ahead: the energy crisis in Kosovo in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
June 24, 2022
Kosovo, almost entirely reliant on coal for its energy, has nevertheless been hard-hit by the ongoing energy crisis. What steps should the country take to address this, and at the same time end its reliance on fossil fuels?
Romania’s decision to phase out coal by 2030: how will it serve a just and green energy transition?
June 17, 2022
Romania finally has its first concrete proposal to phase out coal by 2030. However, to ensure a successful transition, the end of coal needs to be linked with plans to increase renewable energy and a commitment to stay away from gas.
Watershed moment for EIB’s climate ambitions as EU rushes to quit Russian fossil fuels
June 16, 2022
More than ever before, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has to step up its climate finance game.
FLATTERING TO DECEIVE: A reality check for the ‘EU Climate Bank’
June 15, 2022
This report seeks to inform important processes taking place at the EIB in 2022 and 2023, specifically the mid-term reviews of its Energy Policy and its Climate Roadmap.
EU bank hands out billions to companies complicit in burning fossil fuels
June 14, 2022
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has pumped billions of euros into polluting fossil fuel companies over the past two years despite talking up its climate credentials, new research by Counter Balance and CEE Bankwatch Network reveals.
Energy crunch or climate crisis, for CEE policymakers fossil gas is king
April 15, 2022
Amid the possibility of disruptions to Russian fossil gas supply to the EU, CEE governments appear short-sighted on both energy transition and energy security.
Bosnia and Herzegovina illegally extends lifetimes of deadly coal plants
March 25, 2022
Yesterday the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Parliament voted to extend the lifetime of the antiquated Tuzla 4 and Kakanj 5 coal units, in clear breach of the Energy Community Treaty. The move condemns the public to yet more lethal air pollution.
EU Taxonomy proposal welcomed by CEE governments, spells trouble for energy transition
February 24, 2022
With the clock ticking on humanity’s need to cut global emissions, the European Commission’s proposal to label fossil gas and nuclear power ‘sustainable investments’ will undermine the effort to expand renewables and step up energy efficiency. As EU governments and the European Parliament currently examining the so-called EU Taxonomy, policymakers in Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Czechia have already welcomed the text.
