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Czech coal mining communities are under threat
March 12, 2015
 | by Barbora Urbanova

A debate over coal mining limits in the Czech Republic shows that mining communities in EU countries are facing similar struggles as in other parts of the world. It also illustrates how “securing energy supply” has become a catch-all argument even when the energy demand in no way justifies it.

coal, development, displacement, local communities, mining, stranded assets
Energy & climate, Development
Energy Community countries so rich they can afford to eschew climate action?
March 11, 2015
 | by Pippa Gallop

Planned new coal capacities will result in high additional costs for Energy Community countries. Transforming their energy sectors into efficient, sustainable renewables-based systems is not only possible but a cost-effective way forward.

carbon emissions, CO2, coal, costs, economics, Energy Community, health
Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts
NGOs demand transparency in negotiations over Plomin C coal project in Croatia
March 5, 2015
 | by Pippa Gallop

Croatian electricity company HEP on Monday announced that it had signed an exclusivity agreement to conduct further negotiations with Japan's Marubeni - a company which has been implicated in several corruption scandals.

Balkans, coal, Marubeni, Plomin C
Transport, Development
Polish companies lack guidance on social responsibility in the Global South
February 24, 2015
 | by Ola Antonowicz

Private businesses are playing an increasing role in development finance, but their involvement is one of the most controversial issues in the discussion on sustainable development. The Polish government’s support for businesses still lacks clear reference to international standards and guiding principles for operating in the Global South.

Africa, corporate accountability, development, EYD2015, FDI, GoAfrica, human rights, Poland
Social & economic impacts, Other harmful projects, Development
Agro business shooting star in Ukraine turns into nightmare for investors
February 18, 2015
 | by Kadri Green

The story of the defaulted company Mriya Agro Holding shows what risks investors and creditors are willing to take in the pursuit of profit in Ukraine’s agribusiness. Major creditors, including the International Finance Corporation and export credit agencies have been left with little hopes of recoveries. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has escaped the financial loss by a hair's-breadth.

agribusiness, agriculture, default, farming, financial risk, Mryia, Ukraine
EBRD, Export credit agencies, World Bank Group
Social & economic impacts, Development
EU priority gas pipeline faces fierce opposition in Italy
February 17, 2015
 | by Berber Verpoest

The European Investment Bank recently confirmed plans to finance the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline from Greece via Albania to Italy. Yet a coalition of local mayors will do whatever it takes to stop the project.

Apulia, Counter Balance, Lecce, natural gas, PCI, Southern Gas Corridor
EBRD, EIB
Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts, Development
European banks: it's time to quit coal in Ukraine
February 13, 2015
 | by Oleg Savistky

In a street action being held today in Kiev as part of the Global Divestment Day, Ukrainians call on public and private investors to end financing for fossil fuels, in particular coal, and instead invest in renewable energy sources which represent the only independent source for the country.

Burshtyn, coal, Deutsche Bank, divestment, Dobrotvir, DTEK, Raiffeisen, RBS, UniCredit
Commercial banks
Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts, Development
Guest post: Pljevlja shareholder A2A must resist pressure to build new lignite unit in Montenegro
February 11, 2015
 | by Jelena Marojević Galić

Montenegro's government is pushing hard for the construction of a new unit at the Pljevlja lignite-fired power plant. NGOs are encouraging the major shareholder company to not give in to this pressure, writes Jelena Marojević Galić from Green Home.

A2A, BalkanCoal, coal, health, lignite, pollution
Energy & climate
Natural gas left, right and centre at Energy Union conference in Riga
February 11, 2015
 | by Juris Dilba

Massive infrastructure for transporting natural gas is shaping up to be a centre piece of the Energy Union put forward by the Juncker Commission. This was also the impression Bankwatch campaigners had at an Energy Union conference in Riga last week.

Canete, energy, Energy Union, infrastructure, natural gas, Riga, Southern Gas Corridor
EBRD, EIB
Energy & climate, Other harmful projects, Development
Bankwatch stops cutting of another 22 hectares of forest for coal mining in Romania
February 6, 2015
 | by Ionut Brigle

In a file launched by Bankwatch in 2014, a Romanian court annulled [ro] 27 deforestation permits last week, preventing 22 hectares of forest in the country’s south-west to be cut for the expansion of an open-pit coal mine.

coal, deforestation, mining, Oltenia Energy Complex
Energy & climate

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