🧵 Who’s still poisoning the air? Which were the dirtiest coal power plants in the Western Balkans in 2024?

🔥 The ‘champions’ in the sulphur dioxide category are:

🚨OUR NEW ‘COMPLY OR CLOSE’ REPORT IS OUT🚨 The end of 2024 marked 7 years since coal power plants in the Western Balkans had to meet new air pollution standards.

www.complyorclose.org

🥳 Last week in Warsaw, we celebrated 30 years of Bankwatch. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s helped shape Bankwatch over the years. We’re more committed than ever to making sure public money drives real, lasting change — for people and the planet. 💚

68 civil society organisations have today issued a joint statement calling on the EU to ensure dedicated funds for environmental protection and just transition of coal-dependent regions in the Western Balkans in the new EU budget.
Read more: bankwatch.org/publication/...
#GAWBNavigator

Quite sad and frustrating to see North Macedonia, a former climate leader in the Western Balkans, planning to open a new coal mine, breaching its coal phase-out commitments.

🇲🇰 has received quite some donor funds for energy transition, which are now under threat. It must cancel the mine project.

What lies ahead for the just transition in the Western Balkans? And how can the next EU budget support the process?

In our latest podcast, we answer these questions with the help of Nevena Smilevska, just transition coordinator for the Western Balkans: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/FPrYaayPpTb

Your eyes are fine. It’s @ebrd.bsky.social projects that aren’t always green.
If the EBRD is to help drive the green transport transition, it needs to better define what counts as ‘green investments’.

See our issue paper for how this can be done: bankwatch.org/wp-content/u...
#EBRDAM

After Beograd na vodi and the luckily thwarted Mini Manhattan in Zagreb, now Eagle Hills is pushing a megalomaniac project on the ecologically sensitive Velika plaža in Montenegro.

Solidarity with our colleagues trying to stop this outrage!

📢 Join us and 570+ organisations from across the EU and beyond: call on MEPs to address unprecedented attacks on NGOs in the European Parliament and ensure that citizens’ voices are heard!
📄 Read our statement: bankwatch.org/wp-content/u...
#StopAttackingNGOs

Montenegro's 🇲🇪 government seems to have taken leave of its senses, signing a memorandum with UAE for a mega-tourism monstrosity on its stunning 12-km Velika Plaža beach near Ulcinj.

To support the groups fighting against it, please sign this petition: www.change.org/p/stop-devas...

CA countries still plan new coal plants equal to 45% of their existing coal capacity. Kazakhstan leads with 4.6 GW of newly approved plants. After a flurry of new capacity announcements in the past 2 years, there were only minor changes to the region's plans for 2024.

tinyurl.com/rbfe4cvj

Something we've been looking into in the last year

Mind-blowing hypocrisy: far-right thinktank MCC Brussels hosts anti NGO event inside European Parliament, claiming to "fight for transparency" 🤯

In February CEO filed a Transparency Register complaint against MCC Brussels because it fails to disclose financial information, including funding sources

CBAM is coming: Will the coal-heavy Western Balkans turn it to their advantage to drive decarbonisation, or will they drop the ball and be surprised at the chaotic transition that ensues?

Time is running out...

www.context.news/just-transit...

Great to see MEPs scrutinising the @ec.europa.eu's approval of the Western Balkan Reform Agendas.

These breach the Reform&Growth Facility Regulation by including gas infrastructure and other projects that clearly breach the do no significant harm principle.

www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/docume...

Cost of electricity relative to fossil fuels is key factor when it comes to industrial electrification.

In most EU countries electricity is taxed more & levies are often put on electricity but not fossil fuels.

See our new @regassistproj.bsky.social report👇

www.raponline.org/knowledge-ce...

Want to help drive a sustainable energy transformation in the #WesternBalkans? Read on 👇

bankwatch.org/get-involved...