Blogs

Although not an institution that typically receives much fanfare, the export credit agency (ECA) in the Czech Republic has a poor track record worthy of more scrutiny.

Despite an urgent need to rebuild and reshape its highly inefficient and outdated energy sector, Ukraine has recently presented a draft of its new energy strategy that looks more like of the same. While the strategy makes mention of modern renewable energy sources, targets for these are low, and nuclear energy still maintains its leading position in the mix. The country’s 15 Soviet-era reactors are expected to bridge the gap in the so-called energy transition until 2035, meaning that they would need to operate twenty years beyond their designed lifetime, posing a threat to neighbouring countries in Europe and beyond.

Once again people from Pljevlja in northern Montenegro have taken to the streets to protest against the awful pollution that has been plaguing the town for years.

Smoke signals the coming of a polluted winter in Drmno, Serbia. Bankwatch’s independent air quality measurements show for the first time the alarming levels of dust particles near the Kostolac B power plant.

The World Bank has this week published the Investigation Report of its Inspection Panel for the involuntary resettlement of residents in the village of Hade near Pristina in Kosovo. The investigation, undertaken following a complaint by current and former Hade residents and KOSID, confirms that considerable and un-repairable damage was caused to Hade residents during displacement, in order to open the way for the mines of the proposed "Kosova e Re" power plant.

A new Bankwatch study reveals a worrying track record of criminal and corrupt activities among the companies that are building Europe’s flagship gas pipeline project, the Southern Gas Corridor.

While it may seem like a gesture to coal-dependent countries such as Poland, the Winter Package of EU energy market rules, presented yesterday (30 November), will make using coal subsidies more difficult.

The European Investment Bank’s failure in safeguarding the most vulnerable groups in its projects shows it is ill-equipped to help refugees and host communities in the European Union’s neighbourhood. A new report explains the bank’s weaknesses in identifying and responding to human rights risks.

Oppressive noise and a cloud of dust engulf the residents of Roșia de Jiu and Rogojel, villages located next to Romania’s Rovinari power plant. In a new video, Bankwatch Romania has documented the toll that producing coal energy is having on these communities that live near the lignite mines, transport belts and power plant at Rovinari.

Now is the time for southeast Europe to start an inclusive and just transition away from lignite, argues new Bankwatch research.