The cities of the Western Balkans, Turkey and the European Union exchanged good practices in treating climate change and supporting energy transition at the local level in a half-day conference held on the occasion of the launch of the EU4 Energy Transition Project: Covenant of Mayors in the Western Balkans and Turkey.
The representative of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities also participated in this meeting in online form.
The aim of this project is to help the energy transition and address climate change in the Western Balkans and Turkey by supporting the cities of the region in fulfilling their energy and climate commitments.
The Covenant of Mayors on Energy and Climate Change is a global alliance of cities that share a long-term vision to support climate change and build societies with high sustainability and low carbon emissions.
The participating cities are committed to preparing and implementing an Energy and Climate Sustainability Plan in which they will commit to reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 and improving their resilience to the effects of climate change.
This initiative will also support the implementation of small-scale infrastructure projects in selected municipalities, which aim to demonstrate how cities can simultaneously tackle climate change and improve the well-being of their citizens. Furthermore, promoting regional cooperation and multi-level governance will strengthen the long-term sustainability of the project.
In his welcoming speech, Roberto Estellés Colom, representative of the European Commission General Directorate for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), stressed that the enlargement of the Covenant of Mayors in the Western Balkans and Turkey is an important tool for implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.
Approved by the leaders of the Western Balkans at the Sofia Summit on 10 November 2020, the Green Agenda is a new development strategy for the region, moving from a traditional economic model to a sustainable economy, in line with the European Green Agreement.
“The Covenant of Mayors will support the achievement of the Green Agenda objectives to align the region with the EU’s ambition for 2050 to make Europe a carbon-neutral continent, including reducing air, water and land pollution.”
On behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Dr Natalia El Hage, Director for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, stated during the event: “Compared to the EU average, the Western Balkans produce ten times more CO2 to produce the same gross domestic product (GDP).
Therefore, on behalf of the German Federal Government and multilateral partners such as the EU GIZ, we provide technical support and expertise to the Western Balkans in addressing the challenges of climate change and energy transition.”
In addition to presenting the history and objectives of the project, examples of successful climate action at the city level were presented at the conference. During a panel, the mayors of the region exchanged views on the challenges they face in designing and implementing effective climate policies and discussed further steps to achieve a successful energy transition at the local level.
This activity was attended by project beneficiaries, partners, donors and representatives of implementing organizations. The project is co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in the Western Balkans is implemented by GIZ under the Regional Open Fund for Southeast Europe – for Energy, Transport and Climate Protection and in Turkey by the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA).
P.S. The translation into English and Serbian is automated with AI.
