2020 to be defining year for Western Balkans in renewable energy sources area?

The Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, Janez Kopač assessed today that this year was crucial for the Western Balkans region to move to renewable energy sources (RES) and give up fossil fuels.


Attending the Energy Community Sustainability Forum in Vienna, Kopac said that he was an optimist when it comes to activities contributing to sustainable development in energy community as well as the entire business sector in the region.

– Montenegro has introduced the national mechanism for decarbonisation this year. We live in Europe in 2020, which is a crucial year, said Kopac and noted that the pandemic might even accelerate the “green deal”.

Albania has adopted recently the price of solar energy in a tendering procedure. As Kopac said, the energy price will be below EUR 25 per megawatt-hour, which is very cheap and an example for the whole region.

– It proves that renewable energy is much cheaper than energy from other sources.

North Macedonia is preparing an ambitious plan for its first climate plan for Energy Community which should be adopted in the following months.

– It is very important that the plan will be adopted in this country before the process end in other member states, Kopac said.

The situation is developing faster and Kopac is looking towards good results between this meeting and the next one.

The former deputy prime minister of Kosovo, Haki Abazi said that the energy was something that bring the region together better than anything else. Therefore, it essential to convince people that the green energy is the way to go. Political leaders must be convinced to give up on economy based on fossil fuels.

He thinks that there's still no voters in the region who would support “green politicians” in the elections who could work on “cutting out dirty money coming from the fossil fuels”.

– We can make this happen through strong institutional and civic sector support and show what a sustainable region could look like in the future, Abazi said.

One of the messages from the forum was that “carbon neutrality” saves money and that the whole region needs to prepare itself for changes. new rules and challenges so it could protect its environment, citizens and economy.

Energy Community Secretariat Viena

Janez Kopač

Haki Abazi

Western Balkans

Vienna

obnovljivi renewable energy sources

RES

fosilna goriva

Energy Community Sustainability Forum

sustainable development

decarbonisation

green deal

climate plan for Energy Community

carbon neutrality