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Way off track in Riga - EU funds at risk for controversial tram project
July 21, 2017
 | by Selina Vancane

In a relatively small country like Latvia, the general public is used to having its say and being able to influence things in the public realm – our opinion usually means something, and access to decision makers and communication with government officials is commonplace. Latvians, though, are not like the French, revolution is not in our DNA, and protests or strikes happen very rarely in Latvia.

EU Funds
Transport
Namibian smelter expansion risks deepening environmental and health problems
July 17, 2017
 | by Genady Kondarev

As it nears two years of a Bankwatch visit to the copper smelter in Namibia and the uncovering of an unsafe arsenic disposal site, a planned expansion has revealed so far undisclosed environmental information.

arsenic, Chelopech, copper, health, highlight, pollution, smelter, toxics, Tsumeb
Social & economic impacts, Development
Southern Gas Corridor update: Russian involvement increasingly evident
July 17, 2017
 | by Ido Liven

While new public finance for the Southern Gas Corridor is lining up, the European Commission's narrative that the pipeline would relieve Europe’s dependence on Russian gas continues to crumble.

350.org, Bill McKibben, Energy Union, Gazprom, James Hanson, Lukoil, Naomi Klein, NoTAP, Snam, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
EBRD
Energy & climate
Commission must involve the people in next EU budget debate
July 5, 2017
 | by David Holyoake

French President Emmanuel Macron is right to propose public debates on the Future of Europe. But the EU budget is where change will first manifest itself.

EU budget, Future of Europe, jobs, local economy, participation, People's budget, sustainability
EU Funds
Energy & climate, Transport, Resource efficiency, Social & economic impacts
Nuclear safety in Europe: decision-making behind closed doors?
July 4, 2017
 | by Dana Marekova

European citizens don’t want to be left out of decision-making over nuclear power. But a recent meeting of the Espoo Convention reveals how concerns over reactor life-time extensions are being sidelined.

Espoo, nuclear, op-ed, safety
EBRD, Euratom
Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts
Nuclear accountability curbed by EU politics and industry interests
July 3, 2017
 | by Ana-Maria Seman

A meeting of the parties to the UN convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context (Espoo) helped to showcase the influence that politics and the nuclear industry lobby have over decisions that have potentially severe impacts on European citizens’ health and the environment.

corporate lobbying, Espoo, nuclear, op-ed, safety
EBRD, Euratom
Energy & climate
Guest post: A win for citizen activism after UNESCO asks Macedonia to stop all construction projects on Lake Ohrid
June 27, 2017
 | by Elena Nikolovska

After a field visit to the Lake Ohrid in Macedonia, the UNESCO requested the Macedonian government to halt construction projects in the area, one of which is supported by the European Bank For Reconstruction and Development.

biodiversity, Lake Ohrid, roads, success, UNESCO
EBRD
Transport, Other harmful projects
[Campaign update] EU urged to act on Western Balkans smog after alarming pollution levels were found
June 26, 2017
 | by Ioana Ciuta

Results of more than half a year of independent air pollution monitoring in the Balkans have been launched today. During a conference at the European Parliament, MEPs, European Commission and Energy Community representatives, NGOs and citizens groups called for urgent action on air pollution in the Western Balkans.

air pollution, Bas Eickhout, coal, Energy Community, European Parliament, Francois Wakenhut, Greens/EFA, HEAL, health, PM 10, PM 2.5
Chinese investors, Export credit agencies
Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts
Western Balkans holds breath for better air quality
June 26, 2017
 | by Ioana Ciuta

In the Western Balkans, air pollution can be a fatal problem, made worse by some of those countries’ energy policies. Ioana Ciuta sheds light on the region’s developing crisis, which is claiming lives at an alarming rate.

air pollution, coal, health, PM 10, PM 2.5, WHO
Chinese investors, Export credit agencies
Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts
Women and hydropower: exacerbating vulnerability without resettlement
June 19, 2017
 | by Manana Kochladze

The disproportionate impacts that the Nenskra hydropower project in Georgia will have on women are not being assessed by the project company, in spite of its financiers’ standards.

Chuberi, energy, farming, gender, hydropower, local impacts, Nakra, women
EBRD, ADB
Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts

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