Via Euronews: How Serbia's addiction to coal could cloud its future in Europe
Friends with benefits
Serbia’s dependence on coal - and seeming reluctance to transition away from it - has a lot to do with its relationships outside of Europe, most notably with China.
And although the government defends mining and mining projects because they create jobs, Ioana Ciuta, from Bankwatch, told Euronews that due to Chinese investment - new mines and power plants are financed through state-owned Chinese banks - the projects typically create jobs only for imported Chinese workers and not for Serbs.
She added that China’s involvement in the projects mean that when it comes to environmental protection, the authorities are happy to look the other way.
“There is the expansion of the Drmno mine which supplies the power plant Kostolac B3, built with PRC money,” she said.
“The environmental impact assessment of this project was never done and although we have requested data from the government, we were never provided with it.”
https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/21/how-serbia-s-addiction-to-coal-could-cloud-its-future-in-europe
