Listen to Katerina Rakovska, Bulgarian biodiversity campaigner, and Thomas Freisinger, EU policy officer at EuroNatur, talk with our host Michaela Kožmínová, Bankwatch communications officer. We discuss the main barriers and bottlenecks at the national level in central and eastern Europe that are preventing an increase in the quantity and quality of EU funds for biodiversity….

One year ago, Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To face the damages, Ukraine’s and international efforts to plan the reconstruction and rebuild the country, are underway. On 24 February 2023, we look back and evaluate the progress in Ukraine’s reconstruction planning throughout the past year. What worked well and what didn’t? And what…

Territorial Just Transition Plans should steer carbon-intensive regions towards climate neutrality while addressing social, economic and environmental issues and engaging stakeholders. After two years of planning and drafting the plans, Member States should be ready to implement them. In this episode, we explore the just transition in Bulgaria and Hungary with the help of our…

This winter, hundreds of millions of people in Europe are struggling to stay warm without the usual stream of Russian gas, which makes our over-dependence on this fossil fuel more apparent than ever. In fact, about 70 per cent of the energy used for the EU’s heating still comes from fossil fuels. What needs to…

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…