CEE Bankwatch Network

💡 Last week, we launched our new report ‘Unlocking nature financing: National cost estimates for effective nature restoration’ at the European Parliament, hosted by MEP César Luena!

Together with EuroNatur and partners, we mapped the costs of nature restoration.

The Nature Restoration Regulation is a landmark agreement that presents a major opportunity to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in Europe. Two years on from the Regulation’s adoption, EU Member States are now drafting their national restoration plans.

What are the next steps in implementing the Regulation – and how will it be financed? 💶

Our report helps countries estimate restoration costs of their national restoration plans.

➡️ Read more: https://bankwatch.org/publication/unlocking-nature-financing-national-cost-estimates-for-effective-nature-restoration

Magyar Természetvédők Szövetsége- Föld Barátai Magyarország EuroNatur OTOP - Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków Zelena akcija / FoE Croatia Zaļā brīvība César Luena Eesti Roheline Liikumine

Can local action turn cold homes into community-driven warmth? 🔥

Summer days can make heating worries feel distant but in Petroșani, a former coal‑mining town in Romania’s Jiu Valley, the struggle to keep homes warm returns every winter. Decades‑old buildings with crumbling roofs, draughty windows and inefficient heating systems, combined with low incomes and limited access to support, turn cold months into a recurring crisis for many residents.

A citizens’ forum in Petroșani revealed practical, community‑led solutions, from neighbourhood renovation programmes to one‑stop public support and help forming homeowners’ associations. Our national campaigner Laura Nazare stresses how policy must be accessible, coordinated and grounded in lived experience to make the energy transition fair and inclusive.

Read more in the blog post:

When citizens speak: Lessons on energy poverty from the Romanian town of Petroșani - Bankwatch As temperatures rise over the summer months, conversations about heating homes may seem distant for many. Yet for many residents of Petroșani – a former coal-mining town in Romania’s Jiu Valley – the challenge of keeping homes warm is a recurring reality that returns every winter, shaped by a...

Great to be a part of this team 🙌.

How can Slovakia find sources to decrease energy poverty? ⚡

❓ Our national campaigner Juraj Melichár offers the answer to this question and many more in the blog post which focuses on the results of an a**lysis which finds Slovakia could free up €986M every year for energy poverty measures by fully using ETS linked funds, closing Modernisation Fund gaps and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. That money could fund house renovations, heat pumps and solar for tens of thousands of vulnerable households.

Policy choices matter - investments in building renovations, renewables and targeted support rather than fiscal cushions.

👓 Read more here:

Slovakia’s billion-euro opportunity: Redirecting climate revenues and fossil-fuel subsidies to tackle energy poverty - Bankwatch The rising prices of oil, gas, fertilisers and other commodities pose significant challenges to central and eastern European economies dependent on fossil fuels.

As the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) begins to implement its new Gender Equality and Human Capital Strategy, we talked to our civil society partners in countries with particularly restricted civic space and repressive LGBTIQ+legislation. 🏳️‍🌈

💬 🔴 What are the most pressing issues in Georgia?

‘Restrictive laws adopted in Georgia, including anti LGBTIQ+ measures, attacks on gender equality, and restrictions on civil society, are weakening democratic institutions, eroding public trust, and damaging Georgia’s economy. International financial institutions should support inclusive employment, vocational training, entrepreneurship, and non-discriminatory workplace policies that advance LGBTIQ+ inclusion and strengthen human capital. For the EBRD, meaningful engagement with civil society and independent media in private sector financing is essential to safeguard transparency, accountability, and democratic participation. Protecting civic space is critical for Georgia’s future redemocratisation, economic resilience, and long-term democratic development.’

💬 🔴 Our colleagues in Uzbekistan echo these concerns:

‘Article 120 isn’t just a criminal law provision. It’s a barrier to human capital and equal opportunities. As long as LGBTIQ+ people fear exposure, blackmail, detention, and torture in the form of forced a**l examinations, they cannot safely access employment, banks, healthcare, digital services, or complaint mechanisms. The EBRD should create a safe consultation mechanism with the LGBTIQ+ community and use its new Gender Equality and Human Capital Strategy to raise the issue of decriminalising Article 120 in dialogue with the government, clients, and partners.’

We’ll continue to call for the protection and inclusion of LGBTIQ+ people across EBRD operations. Follow us to hear more voices from the ground. 💪 🌈

Development must never come at the expense of human rights, biodiversity or the livelihoods of affected communities!

⚠️ The proposed Rogun Hydropower Project in Tajikistan is set to displace 60,000 people, threaten biodiversity and downstream water security across Central Asia – all in one of the most restrictive countries for civic freedoms, where meaningful community engagement is barely possible.

The project is currently being appraised by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Together with a coalition of civil society partners, we’re calling on the EIB Board of Directors to ensure the project fully complies with the Bank’s own Environmental and Social Standards and relevant EU requirements. If not, the EIB should withhold its financing.

📄 Read our new briefing: https://bankwatch.org/publication/briefing-to-the-eib-board-on-rogun-hydropower-project-in-tajikistan

[New report]

Two years after the official adoption of the historic Nature Restoration Regulation, EU Member States are now drafting their national restoration plans.

But what does nature restoration look like in practice – and how much does it actually cost? 💶

✅ We examined nature restoration projects in 5 countries
✅ And came up with cost estimates for effective nature restoration.

💡 Learn how EU funds can be mobilised to hashtag : https://bankwatch.org/publication/unlocking-nature-financing-national-cost-estimates-for-effective-nature-restoration

EuroNatur Magyar Természetvédők Szövetsége- Föld Barátai Magyarország Eesti Roheline Liikumine Zaļā brīvība OTOP - Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków

© 1, 2, 3, 5: Bruno D'Amicis; 4: Aris Giannoukos; 6: PPNEA