How to hit the ground running on just transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine
July 15, 2020
As the European Commission gears up to launch an Initiative meant to help coal regions in the Western Balkans and Ukraine transition to sustainable economies, Bankwatch publishes today a set of recommendations based on its experience working with the Platform for Coal Regions in Transition, on which the new Initiative will be modelled.
How to hit the ground running on just transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine
July 15, 2020
Recommendations for the Secretariat of the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine
In the air tonight: visualising SO2 emissions from coal power plants in the western Balkans
July 8, 2020
Grasping what a 600% breach of allowed SO2 emissions means is not an easy job, but our data visualisation does just that. In addition to choking the communities where coal power plants are located, SO2 pollution from the Western Balkans often reaches as far as Russia and the Black Sea Coast to the east and Germany to the West!
РЕК Битола со најголеми емисии на сулфур диоксид на Балканот
July 1, 2020
Термоелектраните на јаглен на Западен Балкан продолжуваат да емитуваат „неверојатно високи количини на загадувачи во воздухот.“ РЕК Битола е еден од најголемите загадувачи, но граѓанските организации се сомневаат дека комбинатот ќе ги намали емисиите до 2027 година.
Western Balkan coal power plants breach pollution limits by 6 times, for the second year in a row
June 23, 2020
Two and a half years since pollution control legislation under the Energy Community Treaty obliged Western Balkan governments to apply EU norms, a new Bankwatch analysis finds air pollution – primarily sulphur dioxide (SO2) and dust emissions – from coal-fired power plants remains stubbornly high, choking communities across the region and beyond.
Comply or Close 2020
June 23, 2020
In 2016 alone, roughly 3900 people in the region and in neighbouring countries are estimated to have died as a result of chronic pollution from all existing coal plants. This report is an update of an analysis released by Bankwatch late last year, now including 2019 data.
How to better apply the law to small hydropower in the Energy Community?
June 16, 2020
Prompted by widespread public resistance to small hydropower plants in the Western Balkans, the Energy Community Secretariat has recently been consulting the public on guidelines for the proper application of environmental and State aid legislation in such cases. Bankwatch’s input highlights a plethora of common deficiencies that need to be addressed.
Cities for citizens
June 15, 2020
To modernise and green our cities, we need good governance first.
The Balkans are decarbonising, why aren’t Serbia and Bosnia?
June 4, 2020
Despite this deadly legacy, just two years ago, all the Western Balkan countries except Albania still planned to build new coal power plants. Since then, three out of five have abandoned these plans. The region has split, creating a two-speed energy transition.
Two-speed energy transition in the Western Balkans
June 4, 2020
Two-speed energy transition in the Western Balkans
