EU

A new report by Greenpeace Croatia, using European Environment Agency methodology, shows that the planned new 500 MW unit at the Plomin coal power plant in Croatia will cause approximately 17 early deaths annually, along with around 3970 lost working days due to illness and EUR 124.8 million in external costs.

Following confirmation at the beginning of March that the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are paying out half a billion euros in loans for a new unit at the Sostanj lignite power plant (TES 6) in Slovenia, 98 organisations sent an open letter to both banks calling on them to never commit to such misguided loans again.

With each passing day, there is less chance that we will manage to keep the planet within the "safe" limit of two degrees Celsius global warming that would avoid disastrous climate change. The European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development can play a pivotal role in leveraging more private investment for sustainable energy. Both institutions are now reviewing their energy lending policies.

Croatian electricity company HEP, carried out an assessment of the planned Ombla hydropower plant's impact on the Vilina Cave – Ombla Spring protected area. This assessment confirms that the site in question is among the most diverse such habitats in the country and that the construction of the power plant would have irreversible and long-lasting impacts on an area that set for protection as part of Croatia’s future Natura 2000 network.