A clear and present danger How financial institutions and authorities have failed to address the human impacts of resettlement in Serbia's lignite mining fields
Publisher: CEE Bankwatch Network
Volume: 33 pages, pdf
Description:
Lignite is among the dirtiest of fossil fuels; mining it may have profoundly negative impacts on soil, vegetation, water, air, and the livelihoods of people in neighbouring communities. This has already been the experience of those dwelling close to lignite mines in Germany. But, nowhere is it more self-evident than in Serbia's Kolubara Mining Basin, one of the largest sources of lignite in Europe, where mining has continued for over fifty years. Burning this lignite provides the majority of Serbia's electricity, through the state-owned company, EPS, but at an unacceptable cost in terms of the country's toll in greenhouse gas emissions.