Carbon Market Watch and Bankwatch raised concerns over fossil fuel financing from EU’s Modernisation Fund under EU ETS, calling for stricter climate alignment, they said.
- EUR 4.2bn, or 27% of fund spending, went to fossil gas, waste incineration, and biomass projects in countries including Poland and Czechia, undermining EU Climate Law and RepowerEU goals, according to Bankwatch.
- These investments are at odds with the goals of the EU ETS of funding energy transition.
- Only EUR 2.5bn has gone to renewable energy so far, with NGOs calling for greater focus on grid upgrades, building retrofits, energy communities, and public transport electrification.
- Carbon Market Watch praised improved transparency but stressed the need to exclude fossil fuels from eligibility.
- Bankwatch urged more ambitious benchmarks on emissions reductions to avoid justifying fossil gas as “lower-carbon” vs coal.