Transport

Road and air transport are among the biggest sources for CO2 emissions. The European Union's (EU) climate change commitments imply an urgent need to de-carbonise transport sector.

Nonetheless, investment policies and practices of the EU, its Member States and the European Investment Bank (EIB) continue to prioritise these sectors with large new infrastructure projects. Specifically in central and eastern Europe (CEE) road transport is increasing rapidly, thus threatening the European Union's (EU) own emission reduction targets.

Bankwatch advocates for a clear a shift in public funding from carbon-intensive and environmentally damaging to more sustainable transportation modes.

Impacts on climate and biodiversity

Europe's transport sector in its current shape is a fundamental threat to any emission reduction targets of the EU, especially when taking developments in central and eastern Europe into account.

At the same time, Bankwatch is concerned about infrastructure projects that clash with some of the most unique natural habitats in central and eastern Europe.

International financial institutions' role in the transport sector

IFIs should provide crucial funding for an often notoriously underdeveloped public transport infrastructure. This would not only serve the majority of citizen's in their countries of operation, but also help decarbonising their transport sector.

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Mombasa-Mariakani road project, Kenya

Locals affected by the road project are facing forceful eviction and have not been properly consulted or compensated. The project promoter reacts to criticism with intimidation.

EIB

Transport

Social & economic impacts

Development

European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)

Tasked with stimulating the European economy, the new investment fund may just become an extention of the European Investment Bank’s normal lending with very limited additional (green) finance.

EIB

EU Funds

Energy & climate

Transport

Social & economic impacts

Volkswagen's emissions scandal and the European Investment Bank

With the spotlight bright on Volkswagen for cheating in emission tests, the EU's house bank must now come forward and show exactly what it has done to ensure proper oversight over its loans to the company.

EIB

Transport

Kresna Gorge / Struma motorway, Bulgaria

The Struma motorway, part of the Trans European Corridor N4 Sofia-Athens is planned to go directly through the Kresna gorge, a NATURA 2000 site, and the town of Kresna - even though a comprehensive agreement stipulated in 2007 that this route would be avoided.

EU Funds

Transport

Saaremaa bridge, Estonia

Saaremaa is the biggest Estonian island (40,000 inhabitants) and an important recreation destination with some 250,000 visitors per year. Famous for its picturesque landscapes, the island's vulnerable ecosystems are in danger of being sacrificed for an expensive bridge construction.

EU Funds

Transport

Corridor Vc motorway, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Bosnian section of the international Corridor Vc is planned to run for 330 km through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Concerns about environmental impacts and threats to cultural heritage were raised by local people and cultural figures. The public discussions about the project have led to a series of scandals and a deadlock of the motorway's development.

EBRD

EIB

Transport

Other harmful projects