Up to a third of EU decarbonisation fund spent on natural gas, report finds
August 4, 2026
A big chunk of the EU’s flagship industrial decarbonisation fund was spent on fossil fuels and other climate-unfriendly programmes, according to a report published on Wednesday. In the late 2010s, Brussels created the Modernisation Fund to soften the blow of the carbon price paid by European factory and power plant operators under the ‘Emissions Trading System’ (ETS), which is currently over €80 a tonne of CO2.
Glass half full? Mid-term analysis of the Modernisation Fund’s operations
July 29, 2026
This publication updates Bankwatch’s 2025 assessment of the EU’s Modernisation Fund and comes at a critical moment for EU climate and energy policy.
Romania’s gas trap: Fossil fuel expansion threatens clean energy transition
January 14, 2026
The Romanian government is pursuing an increasingly contradictory energy strategy. On the one hand, it is preparing to heavily exploit Black Sea gas to increase consumption and drive industrial growth. On the other, it must meet ambitious targets for renewable energy, decarbonisation and energy consumption.
EU climate fund commits over half a billion to fossil gas expansion
December 18, 2025
Several fossil gas and waste incinerator projects eyed by EU Member States have rightly been excluded from the latest Modernisation Fund investment round. But gas-fired power plant projects in Czechia and Bulgaria have secured a total of EUR 630 million in future financing.
Six Member States looking to expand gas, waste and nuclear energy with billions from EU climate fund
October 6, 2025
Intended to drive the energy transition in the EU’s lower-income Member States, the Modernisation Fund has been doling out billions to fossil gas and other harmful energy infrastructure.
EU climate fund shrinks support for dirty energy
July 4, 2025
In its largest investment round to date, the EU’’s Modernisation Fund extended support to multiple schemes and projects to advance the energy transition, but damaging projects still get a slice.
Keeping the flame alive with emission revenues: How the EU Modernisation Fund props up fossil gas and waste incineration
May 8, 2025
In operation since 2021, the Modernisation Fund was designed to channel EU emission trading revenues into investments in the energy transition in 13 lower-income Member States.
Closing the door on waste incineration for district heating in central and eastern Europe
December 2, 2024
Member States and public financing must align with EU principles and avoid investments that lock them into unsustainable practices like waste incineration.
Unfit for 55: How EU climate money is supporting gas-fired heating in Slovakia
October 3, 2024
Despite a marked drop in fossil-gas consumption, Slovakia supported district heating systems to run on fossil gas with EUR 55 million from the EU’s Modernisation Fund.
EU climate fund bankrolling dirty energy expansion
June 25, 2024
As global temperatures continue to soar and climate disasters hit the most vulnerable, the EU’s little-known Modernisation Fund is propping up unsustainable energy infrastructure.
