Sustainable renewables incentives – how are the Western Balkans doing?
June 29, 2023
In the decade leading up to 2020, the Western Balkans’ energy transition got off to a poor start, with governments limiting wind and solar investments and instead incentivising a small hydropower boom, which has damaged pristine rivers and streams across the region.
Comply or Close 2023: five years of deadly legal breaches by Western Balkan coal plants
June 28, 2023
The end of 2022 marked five years since new air pollution standards entered into force in the Western Balkans on 1 January 2018. Yet the deadly air pollution from the region’s mostly antiquated coal power plants has hardly decreased at all. In fact, in 2022 it increased compared to 2021 for all three regulated pollutants
Western Balkans: EUR 1 billion in EU funds to tackle the energy crisis – with gas?!
November 7, 2022
At last week’s Berlin Process Summit, President von der Leyen announced an energy support package of EUR 1 billion in grants to help the Western Balkans address the immediate consequences of the energy crisis. But will it end up being blown on pointless gas infrastructure?
EIB moves to curb intermediated hydropower financing
July 29, 2022
The EU’s house bank has recently updated its exclusion list, a document detailing what kind of projects it will not finance. This finally closes a long-standing loophole allowing ill-suited intermediaries to finance hydropower projects.
New report: Southeast Europe hydropower investment risks are high and rising
July 27, 2022
Greenfield large hydropower investments across southeast Europe (1) face major risks and low realisation rates, according to a new report by CEE Bankwatch, EuroNatur, Riverwatch and WWF Adria published today, which also highlights nine high-risk project cases (2).
Why hydropower in southeast Europe is a risky investment
July 27, 2022
Hydropower, together with coal, has traditionally played a major role in the power systems of southeast Europe, with particularly high shares in Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. And today, southeast European governments, utilities and energy experts are keen to build even more hydropower.
Republika Srpska moves ahead of its neighbours in virtually halting hydropower subsidies for new plants
February 15, 2022
Last week the Republika Srpska parliament adopted a new law on renewable energy that will help to stem the ongoing boom of highly damaging small hydropower plants. This puts it ahead of many of the region’s governments in changing the rules on renewables support.
Cutting hydropower subsidies – how are the Western Balkans doing?
February 15, 2022
The small hydropower boom, which has damaged pristine rivers and streams across the Western Balkans, has largely been fuelled by generous feed-in tariffs. In this briefing, we take a look at recent progress towards changing the rules on renewables support in the region.
Implementation of the Air Quality Directive by Western Balkan countries – 2022 update
February 14, 2022
This briefing reviews the progress of five Western Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) on the transposition and implementation of the EU’s Air Quality Directive
Los Balcanes Occidentales también necesitan un fondo para una transición justa
January 21, 2022
Es de suma importancia que los Balcanes Occidentales reciban un fondo para una transición justa a una economía verde a partir de los combustibles fósiles, según un nuevo análisis de una organización griega sin fines de lucro.
