Study: European-financed small hydropower plants damaging pristine Balkan
Eight hydropower projects in Albania, Croatia and Macedonia financed with European public money have damaged biodiversity and are in urgent need of increased monitoring and restoration measures, finds a study by CEE Bankwatch Network. The hydropower plants were enabled by support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank […]
Reducing air pollution from TPPs in Western Balkans could save thousands of lives
While ministers at the 15th ministerial council meeting of the Energy Community in Kosovo* are expected to adopt new rules for emission limits for coal power plants in the Western Balkans (as part of the transposition of the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive into national law), The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) calls on political leaders […]
What will it take to make Balkan leaders realise new coal plants are a liability, not a gold mine?
Author: Pippa Gallop, Research Co-ordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network In April this year, the EU proved that whatever difficulties it might be going through, it can still make momentous decisions. It approved new pollution control standards for power stations, entitled the LCP BREF (1) The name might sound obscure, but the results should be concrete: The new […]
Small is not (always) beautiful: small hydro development in the Western Balkans
By Igor Vejnović, Hydropower Policy Officer, CEE Bankwatch Network It has long been recognized that the human and environmental costs of large dams are extremely high — just recently the failure of the overflow channels at the Oroville dam, California, almost triggered a tragedy. Across the Balkans, however, instead of coming up with genuinely new ideas, […]
Lignite plant – major cause of massive air pollution in Tuzla
The air pollution in the industrial town of Tuzla, has been above legally allowed limits on 12 out of 20 consecutive days, according to joint measurements performed by CEE Bankwatch Network and the Tuzla-based environmental group Center for Ecology and Energy (Centar za ekologiju i energiju). The town in the north-eastern part of Bosnia and […]
Pressure mounts on EBRD to quit Mavrovo dams project
The Macedonian government has plans to make Mavrovo the home for two large and around 15 small hydro power plants, one with financial support from the EBRD, even though this is the largest and richest national park in the country and home to the critically endangered Balkan Lynx, CEE Bankwatch Network said. Boškov most, one of […]