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INSTITUTIONS WE MONITOR
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Established to promote transition to market-oriented economies in the countries of central and eastern Europe and Central Asia, the EBRD’s lending often fails to benefit the people in these countries and regularly prioritises carbon-intensive and environmentally damaging development.
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OUR PROJECTS
Georgia’s East–West and North–South road projects: Counting the true costs of highway expansion
The East–West Highway and the North–South Corridor – two key road infrastructure projects supported by major multilateral development banks, have had devastating social, environmental and cultural impacts in Georgia.
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LATEST UPDATES
Western Balkan governments must finally penalise illegal coal pollution – new report
In 2025, systematic law enforcement failures allowed sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the Western Balkans’ ageing coal power plants to exceed legal limits by 6.6 times, according to the eighth edition of Bankwatch’s Comply or Close report, published today (1). Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions also continued to breach legal limits, while dust pollution increased, reaching the highest level since the current rules entered force in 2018.
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European Investment Bank (EIB)
With a lending portfolio of EUR 72 billion (2010) the European Investment Bank (EIB) is one of the world’s biggest public lending institution – bigger even than the World Bank.
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Free-flowing rivers in Central Asia
Central Asian rivers are under threat from hundreds of new hydropower plants. We have created a map of the key rivers in the region that need urgent protection and are calling on the development banks to stop their destruction.
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The Trump peace pipelines framework: a renewed threat to Western Balkan decarbonisation
The Western Balkan countries have low or no fossil gas dependence, but the United States is trying to change this. As a major gas producer, its approach to the region is increasingly clashing with the EU’s decarbonisation agenda, raising the threat of increased import dependence or stranded assets.
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A new budget for a new Europe
For the European Union and its Member States to become more sustainable societies, the EU’s financial resources have to be spent towards consuming less energy and using resources more efficiently.
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Emerald Network in the Western Balkans
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia are required to establish a sufficient number of Emerald Network sites as signatories to the Bern Convention. However, since 2011, not a single new site has been proposed and many stunning rivers remain unprotected. The #EmeraldForRivers campaign aims to support governments in expanding the Emerald Network.
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Europe risks failing to meet its Nature Restoration Regulation targets without adequate funding
With only three months to go until EU Member States must submit their national restoration plans, EuroNatur and Bankwatch are warning that implementation of the EU’s Nature Restoration Regulation will not be possible without sufficient dedicated public funding. In a new report launched today at an event in the European Parliament, they highlight that, without adequate EU funding, many national restoration plans may prove ineffective, failing to restore all damaged ecosystems by 2050. And in the absence of the European Commission’s long-awaited 2025 financing report, governments are now without essential guidance on investment needs and funding pathways.
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