Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 7h

🚫 Stop Buk Bijela! One of 14 dams planned on the Drina, it threatens the Danube salmon 🐟 and rafting tourism 🚣‍♂️. Despite legal violations, the project is moving ahead with a flawed environmental assessment. No dams on the upper Drina!

🔗 bankwatch.org/stopbu...

1 1

Reposted

European Greens @europeangreens.eu · 9h

🏡 On this first ever #WorldVacantHomesDay, we highlight one of the biggest contradictions of our time: too many homes without people, too many people without homes.

🇪🇺 EU countries must prioritise renovating & reallocating vacant houses for social housing.

There is no place like home.
Yet too many of them are vacant.

It’s not only a housing crisis, it’s also a vacant homes crisis.” The graphic shows bar charts comparing the national percentage of vacant homes (yellow bars) and the percentage of vacant homes in capital cities (dark green bars) across several European countries. The countries shown are the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. A line marks 50% on the y-axis. Source: Housing Europe Observatory, 2023. Note: Data from countries with available comparable data.

18 26

Reposted

Dave Keating @davekeating.substack.com · 4d

"Von der Leyen has become the face of EU surrender, of a union powerless in the face of ever-growing global threats. It is an ironic position to be in for someone so obsessed with amassing power within the institution she controls"

My IPQ profile of VDL: ip-quarterly.com/en/ursula-vo...

Ursula von der Leyen: Queen in the Commission, Servant in the Council

A year into her second term, the European Commission’s notoriously controlling president is attracting criticism for neutering her college of commissioners while blindly following the EU’s 27 national...

ip-quarterly.com

1 5 17

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 5d

🔋 The Western Balkans have a rare chance to leapfrog fossil gas and build a clean energy system.

🔥 Yet EUR 3.5 billion in gas infrastructure is still being planned, which would lock the region into decades of dependence, pollution and financial risk.
Read more: euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...

Why are Western Balkans ignoring renewables and locking themselves into gas?

The Western Balkans are being nudged from one fossil-fuel trap (coal) into another (gas). Why?

euobserver.com

1

Reposted

Beyond Fossil Fuels @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social · 13d

🚨Western Balkans govts are pushing fossil gas pipelines with an annual import capacity of 10.5 billion cubic metres. These could triple their dependence — or end up as stranded assets.
Our new report with @ceebankwatch.bsky.social explains why gas is a dead end.
beyondfossilfuels.org/2025/09/25/d...

3 9 24

pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 13d

Check out our opinion piece in the EUObserver today:

🤔 Why are the #WesternBalkans locking themselves into fossil gas dependence when they could leapfrog straight to renewable energy?

euobserver — EU news that matters @euobserver.com · 13d

The Western Balkans are being nudged from one fossil-fuel trap (coal) into another (gas). Why?

Why are Western Balkans ignoring renewables and locking themselves into gas?

The Western Balkans are being nudged from one fossil-fuel trap (coal) into another (gas). Why?

euobserver.com

1

pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 13d

Check out our new briefing on gas plans in the #WesternBalkans.

Governments are fossil-fooling people that gas is the fuel of the future, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

The EU and other international donors need to send clearer messages: no new fossil fuels, cut to a clean future!

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 13d

🚨 Western Balkans govts are pushing fossil gas pipelines with an annual import capacity of 10.5 billion cubic metres. These could triple their dependence — or end up as stranded assets.
New report with @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social explains why gas is a dead end.
bankwatch.org/publication/...

2 4

Reposted

Transport Community @transport-community.org · 20d

Transport works best when institutions & civil society join forces ✅

In Brussels, CSOs from the #WesternBalkans & EU pitched solutions to make transport more transparent, sustainable & inclusive 🎯

Learn more about our and Open Society Western Balkans's event 👇
tinyurl.com/mmx448db

1 1

Reposted

European Environmental Bureau🍃 @eeb.org · 21d

🧵 1/4

🔬💧 Over 600 scientists from across Europe have signed a joint statement calling on the EU to urgently update its water pollution rules.

📢 Freshwater ecosystems are collapsing - and outdated policies aren't keeping up.

Full statement ➡️ www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/sc...

#HandsOffNature

1 53 84

Reposted

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 21d

Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tonnes of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by normal driving, account for 28% of microplastics entering the environment globally.

Heavy vehicles eg SUVs/EVs especially.

Via @us.theconversation.com

Car tyres shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment – urgent action is needed

Tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food.

theconversation.com

18 160 350

pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 29d

Montenegro's 🇲🇪 government has once again taken leave of its senses and plans to sign a memorandum with a Japanese company tomorrow for an LNG terminal and power plant(s).

40 NGOs and individuals managed to react within 24 hours, demanding a rethink.

www.vijesti.me/vijesti/ekon...

Pozivaju Vladu da obustavi potpisivanje Memoranduma sa japanskom kompanijom o gasnoj elektrani i LNG terminalu

Projekat ne samo da nema konsenzus zajednice, već predstavlja opasnost po bezbjednost, životnu sredinu i javno zdravlje, piše u otvorenom pismu Vladi Crne Gore, ...

www.vijesti.me

1

Reposted

vlado @mmjs86.bsky.social · Aug 29

You can actually take trains across the Balkans?? Let's find out how

5 21 150

Reposted

vlado @mmjs86.bsky.social · Sep 1

It's a beautiful morning in Zagreb! Welcome to the inaugural run on Slovenske železnice's new service from Ljubljana to Zagreb!

Departure board showing a train to Ljubljana at 10:34

4 5 64

Reposted

European Environmental Bureau🍃 @eeb.org · Sep 1

Don’t let the EU tear down nature protection ❌

The European Commission is quietly trying to dismantle the laws that safeguard what we cherish most: our nature.

They think we wouldn’t notice or care. But we do.

Tell them to keep their #HandsOffNature 👉 handsoffnature.eu

1 38 61

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · Jul 23

❓What has the European Commission’s EUR 1 billion Energy Support Package for the Western Balkans achieved?
❗We tried to find out, but could only trace EUR 163 million in worthwhile spending.

Read our new report: bankwatch.org/publication/...

#GAWBNavigator
#GreenAgendaNavigator

2 1

pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · Jul 15

For sure this mostly affects older people, but not only. More and more services assume people have smartphones. I don't have one and I don't want one.

At first this was my usual techno laggardry, but over time I've become convinced that it's crucial for me to maintain focus and avoid burnout.

1 5

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · Jul 11

⚠️The European Commission's new Roadmap towards Nature Credits was published earlier this week.

Yet biodiversity credits may be in danger of being a massive distraction from other more effective strategies to improve the state of nature.

1 1

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · Jul 8

REVEALED: Hydrogen industry’s la-la land was awarded almost half a billion euro in EU subsidies in 2024, our latest analysis reveals.

Fossil energy giants like Shell and Equinor are among the beneficiaries of a little acknowledged EU infrastructure fund.

See here: bankwatch.org/publication/...

2 4

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · Jul 7

⚠️The @ec.europa.eu's new Roadmap towards Nature Credits is out today.

But would such credits help mobilise financing for nature, or distract from simpler and better solutions❓

Read our take in our new briefing: bankwatch.org/publication/...

1 1

Reposted

Beyond Fossil Fuels @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social · Jul 4

SLAPPs are a way for #fossilfuel giants to legally bully and intimidate anyone who criticises them.
Eni, one of the world’s biggest polluters, is doing just that—and in record numbers.
We stand with ReCommon, who will not be sued into submission.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Slapp addict’ Italian oil firm accused of trying to silence green activists

Eni has filed at least six defamation suits against journalists and NGOs since 2019 in what critics say is intimidation campaign

www.theguardian.com

4 30 65

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · Jul 1

Serbia’s dependence on imported fossil gas has brought the district heating sector to its knees. And by keeping gas heating for homes cheaper, the government is applying even more pressure on the sector, writes @natasa-green.bsky.social: bankwatch.org/blog/serbia-...

2 2

pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · Jun 28

Interesting story from our friends at Polekol about falsified documents being used to get an energy permit for the Velika Ploča small hydropower plant on the Ratajska river near Prijepolje in southwest Serbia. Hope this finally stops the project!

polekol.org/2025/06/27/f...

Falsifikovani dokumenti za MHE u Prijepolju: Građani podneli krivičnu prijavu - Polekol

Neformalna grupa građana Zaštitimo reke Prijepolja podnela je krivičnu prijavu protiv firme PowerIT iz Subotice i njenog zakonskog zastupnika zbog osnovane sumnje da su do energetske dozvole za izgr...

polekol.org

Reposted

euobserver — EU news that matters @euobserver.com · Jun 27

The war on Europe's NGOs

NGOs are being defunded, closed down, and criminalised. Volunteer groups are labelled as security threats. This isn’t Cold War theatre — it’s Europe and its neighbourhood in 2025.

euobserver.com

8 10

Reposted

CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · Jun 27

‘EU policymakers will soon unveil how they plan to spend the next 7 years of EU budget. Yet the only fund dedicated solely to protecting and conserving the environment – the LIFE programme – is at risk of being axed.’ Dan Thomson, Policy officer for biodiversity.
More: euobserver.com/eu-political...

The threat to the EU's LIFE programme in the next budget

EU policymakers will soon unveil how they plan to spend the next seven years of the EU budget. Yet the only fund dedicated solely to protecting and conserving the environment – the LIFE programme – is...

euobserver.com

1 2 1

pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · Jun 26

EU policymakers will soon unveil how they plan to spend the next seven years of EU budget.

Yet the only fund dedicated solely to protecting and conserving the environment – the LIFE programme – is at risk of being axed. Read why it matters in our new op-ed:

euobserver.com/eu-political...

The threat to the EU's LIFE programme in the next budget

EU policymakers will soon unveil how they plan to spend the next seven years of the EU budget. Yet the only fund dedicated solely to protecting and conserving the environment – the LIFE programme – is...

euobserver.com