Home >> Node

Member States stepping back from EU's low-carbon investment agenda

Brussels - Representatives of EU Member States meeting tomorrow in Brussels intend to promote the financing of gas distribution, storage and transmission from Cohesion Policy funds meant for low-carbon measures in the next EU budget. Such support for gas would mean the EU’s dependency on fossil fuels will continue for decades, undermining global efforts to combat climate change.

Overpriced and underwritten - The hidden costs of Public-Private-Partnerships

Source: Nick Shaxson, Tackle Tax Havens blog

A phenomenon that has become quite fashionable over the last decade or so among governments is the Public-Private-Partnership, or PPP. The UK started to introduce this model in the mid-1990s, and it is also a favoured option in Spain and Hungary. One of the many dangers is that it allows private companies who enter into partnership with government to funnel the profits into tax havens.

A call for an open and transparent consultation process over the EIB's energy policy

In this letter, five NGOs and NGO coalitions call on the EIB to undertake consultations according to the best standard as well as to identify and inform a wide range of stakeholders about the revision of the policy.

The revolution should not be privatised

a

Pushing for public-private partnerships will not support democratisation in the Arab Spring countries but risks increasing their public debt. Our new website brings together the PPP lessons that Europe should have learned.


UK hospital PPPs

Between 1997 and the end of 2010 in England, 102 health sector PPP contracts (or PFI - private finance initiative) were signed compared with just 35 publicly funded health capital investment projects. Another 45 health sector PPP contracts were signed in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales during the same period.

London Underground PPP

The London underground PPP has been criticised already at an early stage for its high costs and high profits for the private partners. In the end, the PPP was ended when the consortiums were bought by London's public transport company.

Transport in the EU Budget: Making spending sustainable - Priorities for the TEN-T Guidelines and the Connecting Europe Facility

Transport is the only sector where greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing. Without decisive new action, transport GHG emissions are expected to grow by 74% until 2050. The Commission has pledged that at least 20% of the proposed €1 trillion EU budget for 2014-2020 will go towards climate mitigation and adaptation goals. This paper outlines how these commitments can be put into practice in the regulations on CEF and the TEN-T guidelines.

The EU's electricity imports from neighbouring countries: at what cost?

Kiev -- Despite being the place of one of the most terrifying nuclear accidents in the world, Ukraine is currently working on expanding the lifespan of 13 of its old Soviet-style reactors, with electricity exports to the European Union in mind. In a study published today, CEE Bankwatch Network is revealing how the EU and its financing institutions are promoting electricity imports to the EU which are likely to have highly damaging consequences for the exporting countries.

A Partnership of unequals - Electricity exports from the eastern neighbourhood and western Balkans

Cooperation in the energy sector is one of the European Union’s key priorities in its relationships with neighbouring states. Although the promotion of energy efficiency, energy savings and the use of renewable energy sources should be the primary areas of cooperation along with “energy security”, the latter receives the lion’s share of attention and in several cases also a disproportionally large amount of financial support. This can have several negative environmental and social implications as this study shows.

Syndicate content