NGOs concerned over lack of progress on Western Balkans Green Agenda

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A number of civil society organizations expressed concern on Wednesday over the lack of progress in implementing the goals set out in the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.

A press release from the Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said that the NGOs warned in a letter to European Union and Western Balkans leaders prior to their June 23 summit that the Green Agenda process “lacks transparency and the engagement of all interested parties, including the civil sector, resulting in an ambiguous Action Plan that has yielded few outcomes to date”. The letter urged EU and Western Balkans leaders to come up with realistic, time-bound, and ambitious measures to decarbonize the region and ensure the financial means for a just transition.

It warned that governments in the Western Balkans are still proposing the construction of new gas and coal infrastructure, “which will only serve to maintain the region’s fossil fuel status quo and worsen the climate crisis” and will be financed through the Western Balkans Economic and Investment Plan.

“The Western Balkans are a vital part of the European continent and the EU leaders must increase their support to ensure the region’s energy security and independence from fossil fuels – today even more crucial in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine. The EU’s taxpayer-funded assistance to the region must be consistent with the EU’s goal of achieving a carbon-neutral continent and the Paris Agreement. It is critical that political declarations be followed by actual steps that correspond to European values and decarbonisation targets”, CAN Europe Director Chiara Martinelli is quoted as saying.