New study assesses prospects for EU funded low-carbon energy solutions in Polish regions
November 25, 2014
The low-carbon energy ambitions of Polish regions for future EU funding are very diverse with only a few promising cases as an analysis of the Operational Programmes of Polish regions shows.
Visegrad countries pose fresh threat to 2030 targets
October 1, 2014
Brussels – The group of four Visegrad countries (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) plus Romania and Bulgaria declared yesterday their readiness to block EU 2030 binding renewables and energy efficiency targets which are to be agreed upon at a European Council Oct. 23-24. Yet cracks are appearing in the group.
Romanian government is seeking financial support in China for time travel into a lignite past
September 3, 2014
The renewables capacity installed in Romania has grown tenfold in the last five years and constitutes 23 percent of Romania’s installed energy capacity. Still, the government is pushing for new lignite-fired power plants.
Whose Energy Community? Treaty improvements urgently needed
March 20, 2014
The EU-backed Energy Community Treaty, signed in 2005 and comprising the western Balkan countries, Ukraine and Moldova, has been widely hailed as encouraging regional co-operation. It also sets a legislative framework for the signatories (also known as the contracting parties) that should contribute, along with the EU accession process, to addressing the environmental and social impacts of the energy sector. Indeed, examples of the Energy Community’s added value are its adoption of renewable energy targets in October 2012, as well as a requirement for power plants to comply with EU emissions limits.
The good, the bad and the uncertain: the new energy policies of Europe’s public banks
March 20, 2014
The European NGO coalition Counter Balance has recently published a short overview of the new energy policies now in place at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Both banks’ new policies were finalised towards the end of 2013 following extensive consultation with stakeholders from the energy sector, civil society and academia.
European Parliament criticises Serbia’s lack of progress on renewables
February 4, 2014
Facing criticism by the European Parliament of its progress on climate friendly energy sources, the Serbian government tells Bankwatch’s member group that the future of the country’s energy system is none of their business.
New report – How Turkey’s coal boom threatens local economies on the Black Sea
November 11, 2013
With coal power expansion booming in Turkey, a new Bankwatch report based on a recent field trip finds that the environmental impacts of coal power plants are inadequately assessed, while Turkey’s viable, clean alternatives to coal are neither being analysed or discussed seriously by senior policy- and decision-makers.
“Move over Poland!” Czech parliament bids for EU ‘dirty energy’ crown, as renewables subsidies make way for fossil fuels
September 16, 2013
A new law that will redraw the Czech Republic’s approach to renewable energy is suspected to bring the development of the Czech renewables sector to a standstill and instead provide a boost for the country’s fossil fuel sector.
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.
A tale of neglect: Energy finance figures from the Western Balkans
June 25, 2013
The neglect by international financial institutions of the Western Balkans sustainable energy potential will cost the region’s public heavily for years to come. Figures collected in a new study illustrate how the different international lenders perform in the region.
