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pippagallop.bsky.social

@pippagallop.bsky.social
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Promoting sustainable energy transition in southeast Europe at CEE Bankwatch Network

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European Environmental Bureau🍃 @eeb.org · 3h
🚨Today, EU ambassadors approved the Council’s position on speeding up environmental assessments. Fast-tracking permits for “strategic” projects risks rushed assessments and public consultation. Now it's time for MEPs to stand up for environmental rules that protect people, communities and nature.
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
📢 Great to finally see a clear statement from an EU official on the burning issue of the Western Balkans' fossil gas plans 🔥
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
1) 🔥 For decades now, the EU has allowed subsidies for large-scale wood burning. This was always a risky idea. 🌳 As well as the climate, biodiversity and air pollution impacts of biomass, demand from power/heat plants often pushes up wood prices for households in need.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
1/4 The World Bank is increasing financing for fossil gas in the Western Balkans. But this would take the region in the wrong direction. That’s why 14 organisations have written to the Bank’s Board today. bankwatch.org/public...
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The Green Tank @thegreentank.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
⚡ Since 2024, #Greece has become a net exporter of #electricity. 🔥 However, a significant share of these exports is powered by fossil #gas, increasing wholesale electricity #prices by €6.23/MWh and #emissions by 2.6 million tonnes of CO₂. 📄 📄 Read more in our new report: shorturl.at/0JtdR
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
1) 📣 A public consultation is open until 16 September on the European Commission’s approach to applying the ‘do no significant harm’ (DNSH) principle in the next EU budget, from 2028 to 2034. 💡Read our new briefing: bankwatch.org/publication/...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
🛣️Corridor Vc – the EU’s flagship motorway through Bosnia and Herzegovina – should have been completed by 2012. It’s now 2026 and only around 45% of the motorway has been built, with costs soaring to nearly EUR 5.2 billion – and still rising. 🔗Read our new briefing: bankwatch.org/publication/...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
🍃 A credible #GreenTransition puts people first. In 🇲🇪, the planned expansion of the Brezna electrical substation raises important questions about environmental transparency, cumulative impacts, and public participation. bankwatch.org/blog/death-b...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
🏞️Communities near the Bunica River in Bosnia and Herzegovina are seeking answers after a large drainage pipe was installed next to one of the country's most important karst springs during construction of the Corridor Vc motorway. 🔗Read our latest blog post: bankwatch.org/blog/signs-o...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
1/2 More than EUR 20 billion has already been invested through the #ModernisationFund. 🥛 Is the glass half full or half empty? As negotiations begin on the future of the EU ETS and the Fund, our latest assessment examines the Fund's first five years of operation. bankwatch.org/publication/...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
🎞️ New video 🎞️ The Neretva is one of the Balkans’ most valuable rivers. But it’s under threat! The Upper Horizons complex, with three planned hydropower plants, would divert water away from the Neretva and have devastating, wide-ranging impacts on people and nature.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
2/- Disrupting underground💧 systems and stunning rivers - Destroying unique habitats and biodiversity - Flooding fertile farmland in Herzegovina - Salination of farmland in Croatia’s Neretva delta - Putting local communities at risk 🎥 Learn what's at stake and spread the word: youtu.be/XqczatGwVZs
youtu.be
Save the Neretva! #StopUpperHorizons
YouTube video by Bankwatch
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
🎞️Premiere 🎞️#StopUpperHorizons 1/ 🌊 There is only one Neretva. And it's under threat. The Upper Horizons hydropower project would divert water from the Neretva basin through dams, reservoirs, tunnels and canals to another river basin. The consequences?👇
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Ember @ember-energy.org · 21/07/2026
NEW | Europe can unlock 25 GW of new renewables by adding to existing hydropower sites, bypassing grid capacity constraints. 🇦🇹🇧🇬🇫🇷🇮🇹🇵🇹🇷🇴🇪🇸 all have this opportunity to get more renewables online faster even where the grid is a bottleneck. ember-energy.org/lat...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
What happens when 90% of your heating fuel comes from imports? Serbia’s #DistrictHeating sector offers an important warning for the region. More in our new blog post by @natasa-green.bsky.social : bankwatch.org/blog/serbia-...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Why is it crucial to include the EU Habitats, Birds and Water Framework Directives in the Energy Community Treaty? Find out in our new position paper, supported by 78 civil society organisations working in the Western Balkans. #GreenAgendaNavigator #GAWBNavigator bankwatch.org/publication/...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
🧵 Who’s still poisoning the air? Which were the dirtiest coal power plants in the Western Balkans in 2025? 🔥 The ‘champions’ in the sulphur dioxide category are: 🇧🇦 Ugljevik in Bosnia and Herzegovina was again the region’s highest absolute coal polluter in 2025, with 115,079 tonnes.
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I can't believe we still have to write this report. Governments and utilities have known for 20 years that these rules would come, but SO2 is still 6.6 times higher than allowed, and in most cases they still have no coal phase-out plan in place. #ComplyOrClose
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
1/3 🚨OUR NEW ‘COMPLY OR CLOSE’ REPORT IS OUT🚨 The end of 2025 marked 8 years since coal power plants in the Western Balkans had to meet new air pollution standards. www.complyorclose.org
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
🔥 Mark your calendars for 23 June when the latest edition of our ‘Comply or Close’ report will be launched. Stay tuned for fresh data, deadly pollution and a wake-up call for decision makers. 🔴 www.complyorclose.org
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
🌊 Over the past two decades, the lower Sava in Slovenia has been turned into a series of reservoirs and dams. Now, Slovenia’s state-owned Hidroelektrarne na Spodnji Savi is trying to build the last in the chain – the controversial Mokrice hydropower plant. bankwatch.org/story/the-da...
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
How do you turn people off the green transition and deliver them to the far right? Through #ClimateAuthoritarianism. The government seeks to coerce, not to persuade. And it's turning a planning system based on consent into one based on decree. This week's column.🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Britain’s green transition should belong to everyone. Why is Labour so intent on stopping us having our say? | George Monbiot
Tearing up planning and using protest laws to criminalise local people – this isn’t how to build the broad consent needed, says the Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
❗ Projekt Gornji horizonti prijeti delti Neretve. A što radi Hrvatska? 🏗️ Vlasti Republike Srpske forsiraju projekt Gornji horizonti. 🍊 Poljoprivreda i život u delti Neretve su ugroženi. 🇭🇷 Hrvatska ima mehanizme da to pokuša zaustaviti, ali sve se kreće vrlo sporo.' klimatski.hr/2026/05/25/p...
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Democratization Policy Council @dpcglobal.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
DPC's Valery Perry speaks with @pippagallop.bsky.social of @ceebankwatch.bsky.social in the latest DPC Voice, our new podcast, regarding the Southern Interconnection pipeline project, which has been aggressively pushed forward by the US. open.spotify.com/episode/6uug...
open.spotify.com
DPC talks with Bankwatch's Pippa Gallop - Zagreb
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
1/ Today is #Natura2000 Day – an ideal opportunity to take action for Europe’s nature!💚 Natura 2000 is the world’s largest coordinated network of protected areas, helping to keep our water clean, our air fresh, and our climate stable.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
1/ ⚠️Obstacles are piling up for the controversial hydropower project the Upper Horizons. Works on the Dabar hydropower plant – part of the planned complex – have been reduced to a minimum as the China Eximbank stopped disbursing funds. bankwatch.org/story/obstac...
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
bankwatch.org/story/obstac...
bankwatch.org
Obstacles pile up for the Dabar hydropower plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Time to rethink the whole Upper Horizons complex - Bankwatch
When the Republika Srpska authorities signed contracts with the China Eximbank to finance the Dabar hydropower plant at the end of 2021, it seemed like the first and largest part of the Upper Horizons...
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Great to see @taz.de covering the Western Balkans' dash for gas pushed by Trump's cronies. The EU is missing in action on this issue and needs to find its feet quickly, otherwise US companies won't hesitate to take advantage. taz.de/Trumps-Freun...
taz.de
Trumps Freunde kaufen den Balkan auf
US-Investoren finanzieren Infrastrukturprojekte in Südosteuropa und hebeln dabei EU-Regeln aus.Das kommt nicht nur die dortigen Steuerzahler teuer. Es kann auch langfristige Folgen haben
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
1/ Last week, media in BiH reported that work on the Dabar hydropower plant – part of the planned Upper Horizons complex – has almost ground to a halt.
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bne IntelliNews @intellinews.com · 30/04/2026
Mega deals announced by Trump-linked companies brings up concerns over corruption and environmental impact similar to those raised over Chinese and Middle Eastern investments in the past. Bne IntelliNews #Balkans #TrumpInvestments #Transparency #Corruption #EnvironmentalImpact
dlvr.it
BALKAN BLOG: Wave of Trump-linked Balkan investments sparks transparency concerns
Mega deals announced by Trump-linked companies brings up concerns over corruption and environmental impact similar to those raised over Chinese and Middle Eastern investments in the past.
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bne IntelliNews @intellinews.com · 28/04/2026
Southern Interconnection intended to boost energy security and reduce reliance on Russian gas, but civil society groups warn it risks locking the region into fossil fuel dependence. Bne IntelliNews #Bosnia #Croatia #GasPipeline #EnergySecurity #FossilFuel
dlvr.it
Bosnia, Croatia sign gas pipeline deal despite civil society backlash
Southern Interconnection intended to boost energy security and reduce reliance on Russian gas, but civil society groups warn it risks locking the region into fossil fuel dependence.
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Andy Gheorghiu @andygheorghiu.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Ahead of Dubrovnik 3SI Summit, 47 civil society organisations warn against Western Balkan US #gas addiction bankwatch.org/press_releas... @ceebankwatch.bsky.social @caneurope.org @oilfieldwitness.bsky.social @oilchange.org @profbobhowarth.bsky.social @betterbayou.bsky.social @piria.bsky.social
bankwatch.org
Ahead of Dubrovnik 3SI Summit, 47 civil society organisations warn against Western Balkan gas addiction - Bankwatch
47 civil society organisations have today called on Western Balkan governments to resist pressure from the United States and cancel plans to build new gas pipelines and power plants.
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
So ironic... Albania 🇦🇱 is an example of how countries with a higher renewables output have been protected from steep rises in electricity prices. Yet its government is planning to throw this away by building gas pipelines, terminals and power plants. Don't do it, Albania❗
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
1/📢 47 civil society organisations have today called on Western Balkan governments to resist pressure from the United States and cancel plans to build new gas pipelines and power plants. bankwatch.org/press_releas...
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Great to see that the @ec.europa.eu has stood up for EU law and reacted to the scandalous amendments on the southern gas interconnection recently adopted by the Federation of BiH. It would be good to see a public announcement about this though, rather than having to find out via the Guardian.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
☀️Renewable capacity is growing across the Western Balkans, but mostly as large, centralised additions to outdated grids. ⚡While power transmission systems have their own issues they need to resolve, distribution grids are most lagging in investments to speed up the transition.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
The Western Balkan governments didn’t get the memo. Instead of moving towards sustainable solutions, they are doubling down on waste incineration just as the EU is moving away from it. Proven alternatives are already in place❗ Read the report and our recommendations: bankwatch.org/publication/...
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Carbon Market Watch @carbonmarketwatch.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
🖱️REGISTER NOW Join us to discuss how Europe's flawed and overreliant approach to carbon removal threatens the climate and what can be done about it. 📅 29 April 2026 | 10:00-11:30 CET📍ONLINE 🔗Register and learn more here: carbonmarketwatch.org/events/webin...
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Interesting article by @euronews.com about coal in 🇧🇦. What stands out for me: ▶️ lack of urgency by decision-makers in taking action ▶️ contradictions on gas. It wasn't feasible in 2010 but now, during an oil and gas crisis, a new gas plant is planned in Kakanj ⁉️ www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
euronews.com
Deadly coal: Bosnia-Herzegovina's problems with its energy transition
Will Bosnia-Herzegovina's belated start to the energy transition delay its EU accession? The country is struggling to move away from coal-fired power generation. There is a shortage of desulphurisatio...
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
❗ Europe’s water is at risk. As the 🌊 of weakening EU nature protection laws is sweeping the EU, now EU water policy is targeted. The Water Framework Directive, in place since 2000, is a cornerstone law to protect and improve water quality in Europe.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
1/ On Wednesday, we held a public event in Opuzen in Croatia's Neretva delta, on the dangers posed by the Upper Horizons hydropower complex and what can be done to prevent them.
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
BiH: Scientists warn Buk Bijela dam project poses grave threat to upper Drina basin riverwatch.eu/en/balkanriv...
riverwatch.eu
BiH: Scientists warn Buk Bijela dam project poses grave threat to Upper Drina Basin
Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – March 25, 2026 – In a scientific position paper, 163 experts have issued a stark warning about the proposed Buk Bijela Hydropower Plant (BBHP) on the Upp...
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Yesterday we held a very productive meeting about the Neretva delta in Croatia, whose rich agricultural tradition is threatened by the planned Upper Horizons hydropower complex in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
1/4 🗳️ Ahead of the European Parliament vote on 26 March, 70 civil society organisations are calling for the rejection of the second European Commission list of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and Projects of Mutual Interest (PMIs). www.foodandwatereurope.org/blogs/tell-t...
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
📉 Wow, 🇬🇷 is really showing what happens to electricity prices when you reduce fossil gas dependence and ramp up renewables. ⚠️ #WesternBalkan governments, take note! 🏭 Time to abandon those ill-advised plans to build new gas power plants 🌞 and ramp up appropriately-sited solar and wind instead!
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
🌊 Today, on the 29th International Day of Action for Rivers, join us to help stop the massively harmful Buk Bijela hydropower plant on the upper Drina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. An environmental impact assessment for the project is currently open for a transboundary public consultation.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Yet it tries to understate the damage to the people and wildlife of this iconic river that dozens of planned dams will cause. Read our story below to find out more: bankwatch.org/story/... #StopBukBijela
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pippagallop.bsky.social @pippagallop.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
It's so frustrating to see almost all the #WesternBalkan governments planning to follow the EU's costly gas dependence. 🇦🇱, 🇲🇪, 🇧🇦, 🇲🇰 and 🇷🇸 are planning a host of new gas power plants and pipelines, increasing gas demand, import dependence and vulnerability to external shocks. Don't do it!
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
1/2 The Buk Bijela hydropower plant is one of dozens planned on the Upper Drina and its tributaries. It raises serious environmental, legal, and financial 🚩. The project would turn 30 km of the Upper Drina river into stagnant reservoirs and endanger the Danube salmon population.
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CEE Bankwatch Network @ceebankwatch.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
1/ Europe is changing the dealer, but keeping the addiction. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU was 44% dependent on Russia for its gas supplies. Four years later, the U.S. is well on track to become Europe’s largest gas supplier, overtaking Norway. bankwatch.org/press_releas...
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