Context
With the adoption of the Green Agenda in 2020, the Western Balkan countries decided to work towards greater sustainability. However, they are not implementing it in a uniform manner, as many countries are at different stages of their accession to the European Union and their path to green transformation. There is also limited involvement of local stakeholders, a lack of regional coordination to address knowledge imbalances, and a shortage of expertise and experience-sharing. In addition, decision-makers rarely issue joint statements. Existing dialogue formats and the Berlin Process, an initiative to promote regional cooperation, are also not being used effectively.
Objective
Regional climate dialogue has been improved, resulting in the Western Balkan countries implementing the Green Agenda more rapidly and efficiently.
Approach
The project integrates the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans into high-level dialogue formats. This is intended to allow joint decisions to be made by the Western Balkan countries and the Green Agenda to be implemented more quickly.
The project:
- Makes use of existing dialogues, such as the ministerial meetings held by the Regional Cooperation Council’s working group, and enhances the Berlin Process by incorporating Green Agenda topics
- Actively involves national and municipal decision-makers, civil society, the private sector and, above all, women
- Further develops regional dialogue platforms for a fact-based, gender-just and socio-environmental transformation
- Promotes new forms of cooperation with local stakeholders, scientists and think tanks, tests innovative methodological approaches, and responds flexibly to new Green Agenda topics
The project supports the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in coordinating the Regional Climate Partnership with the Western Balkans and establishing a steering structure. This makes it easier to engage in dialogue with key stakeholders, define partnership objectives and monitor progress. The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) serves as the lead executing agency and coordinates the implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.
Last update: August 2024