Ecology

The Western Balkan contracting parties to the Energy Community Treaty are below RES indicative trajectories and are highly likely to fall short of meeting the 2020 RES targets. The methodology for monitoring of the EE saving is less robust and it is more difficult to predict the target attainment. Targets for CO2 reduction by 2030 are not ambitious enough considering its main purpose -combatting the climate change. The largest contracting party has the least ambitious target.

Western Balkans is the home to the most polluting thermal power plants in Europe. Despite the fact that Contracting Parties committed themselves to significantly reduce dust, SO2 and NOx emissions in line with the provisions of the Large Combustion Plants Directive by 31 December 2017, emissions are still huge and larger than prescribed limits. Some of the plants exceeded prescribed limits for SO2 emissions by as much as 15 times.

Contracting parties of the Energy Community from the Western Balkans rely mostly on coal and oil for their primary energy supply. Renewables also take part in the energy mix primarily through traditional use of biomass in inefficient domestic devices followed by large hydro. Modern sources of renewable energy are at an early stage of development. Energy and carbon intensity of the region is comparatively high both to the EU and the World average values.

Our world is facing one of its greatest challenges: the race to zero (emissions) and climate-neutrality. Science tells us almost everything we need to know about the rules of this race. Moreover, most countries have read these and signed-up to enter the race years ago, in Paris, in 2015. The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, was adopted by 196 countries at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its main goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century.

Albania is a country in Southeastern Europe, bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south and southeast. The western side of the country is a coastline to the Adriatic Sea, and the southern side has a coastline onto the Ionian Sea. In terms of electricity generation, around 99% of the electricity is generated from hydropower with still less than 1% of primary energy supply from solar power plants. With the ongoing climate change, energy security could become a critical concern in Albania.