REPowerEU, the European Commission’s response to the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, has the potential to accelerate the roll-out of renewables and influence energy savings, but will the funds be used for more fossil fuels projects? In this episode we take a deep dive into REPowerEU with our guests, Olivier Vardakoulias, Finance and…

The 2022 Lung Run is a trail running race designed to raise awareness in communities in the Western Balkans about the need to move away from polluting practices and industries. In this episode of the Bankwatch podcast we discuss the original idea behind the run, how we chose the location and where does the local…

While the fight to liberate Ukraine is still ongoing, discussions about the reconstruction process have already begun. Several proposals developed by a variety of stakeholders already exist. How do they reflect green reconstruction principles and the Ukrainian people’s needs? Listen to the latest episode of the Bankwatch podcast to find out.

More than four years have passed since the deadline for the Western Balkan countries to comply with pollution limits. These limits are meant to reduce the deadly impacts of coal power plants on human health and the environment. For four years, Bankwatch has been tracking the emissions of harmful air pollutants from Western Balkan coal…

Listen to Bankwatch’s EU Policy Officer for Biodiversity Daniel Thomson and Thomas Freisinger, the EU Policy Officer at EuroNatur, talk with our host Michaela Kožmínová, Bankwatch Communications officer. We discuss a missed opportunity for addressing the biodiversity crisis in recovery plans and why the EU’s ‘green recovery’ doesn’t support nature. Our experts also provide insights…

In our new podcast episode dedicated to the EBRD annual meeting, Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer at Bankwatch interviews campaigners and partners about their impressions, achievements and takeaways from the Bank’s flagship event. Learn more about our advocacy on the ground including human rights due diligence, gender equality in Uzbekistan, protection of unique biodiverse nature in…

The EU is making tens of billions of euros available for the transition of European coal regions, both from the dedicated Just Transition Fund and from other budgetary sources. Countries in central and eastern Europe are in the process of finalising spending plans, to show the Commission how they want to use the cash. How…

This podcast episode coincides with the launch of our new Comply or Close report, a yearly look at coal-generated air pollution in the Western Balkans. From 2018 to 2020, around 19 000 people across Europe and beyond lost their lives because of air pollution emitted by Balkan coal power plants. Nearly 12 000 of these…

Listen to Bankwatch’s biodiversity experts Katerina Rakovska from Bulgaria and Rolands Ratfelders from Latvia talk with our host Claudia Ciobanu, Bankwatch Communications officer. We discuss the complex and alarming situation of biodiversity in Europe and how and why Member States need to support biodiversity. Our experts also provide insights into why the EU recovery funds…

Listen to Fidanka McGrath, Bankwatch’s EBRD policy officer and David Hoffman, Bankwatch’s Communications coordinator in a special episode on the occasion of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 30th annual meeting (28.06-02.07.2021). We discuss the bank’s unique political mandate, its approach towards human rights and democracy and the ongoing operational expansion to sub…