The earlier the date of depoliticization of a country is set, the larger will be its share of a Fair Transit Fund for the Western Balkans, as evidenced by its analysis Green Tank in collaboration with CEE Bankwatch Network, published today.
Most Western Balkan countries have a long dependence on lignite and coal for their electricity generation.. Nevertheless, as well as the international community and especially the European Union, mobilize to address the climate crisis, solid fossil fuels are no longer an economical solution and the obsolete power plants in the area will have to close in the coming years.
However, the transition from solid fossil fuels to the Western Balkans must take place without exclusions and with the participation of those who will be most affected, that is, workers in the lignite industry and local communities in the lignite areas. It also requires the mobilization of significant public resources, which should be distributed to the countries of the Western Balkans in a way that avoids the mistakes made in the design of the respective European Fair Transit Fund.
The new report, with Title "Fair Transition Fund for the Western BalkansPublished by Green Tank and the CEE Bankwatch Network, Stresses the need for a Fair Transition Fund for the countries of the Western Balkans and, using a special model, explores how resources will be allocated as fairly as possible.
The proposed distribution model, uses five (5) criteria that quantify for each country the dependence on solid fossil fuels and oil, climate ambition as reflected in de-lignification commitments, levels of air pollution from the use of lignite and coal as well as the economic capacity of each country to meet the challenges arising from the transition. Six de-ligation scenarios were analyzed using the model, as well as a number of different weights for the allocation criteria.
The main conclusion of the analysis is that the fastest commitment to lignite and coal detoxification, significantly increases the share of resources that a country will receive. More specifically:
- Serbia benefits more from faster recovery from solid fossil fuels, in five of the six scenarios analyzed, taking up to 45.4% of the Fair Transition Fund.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina may receive up to 34.6% and even surpass Serbia's share in the scenario in which its detoxification is completed by 2030, while Serbia and Kosovo insist on the solid fossil fuel power model until 2050 and 2040 respectively.
- Kosovo will receive up to 23.8% of resources, provided it is de-lignified by 2030.
- In the case of Northern Macedonia, the 2027 has set a deadline for its demilitarization is responsible for increasing its share in the 13% of TDM, almost double its share 7.4%, that he would have received, if it had decided to extend its dependence on lignite and coal until 2050.
- Montenegro could almost triple its share in 4% of the Fund if it decides to withdraw the only lignite power plant, which currently operates beyond 20,000 legal operating hours, the 2022 instead of 2035 for which the country is committed.
also, the difference between the lowest and highest potential shares of each country for the six de-ligation scenarios analyzed increases when the transition rate criterion has a higher weighting factor. End, when the financial capacity of each country in the Western Balkans is taken into account in the design of the Fair Transition Fund, economically weaker countries are favored (Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania).
«To avoid the effects of a sharp transition, like the one that happens in the lignite areas of Greece, The countries of the Western Balkans should immediately start planning the transition of their lignite areas. The EU needs to provide technical and financial support for the development of a Fair Transit Fund for the Western Balkans, while the speed of the transition must be included in the allocation criteria in order to properly assess the urgency of the transition in each country», said Nikos Mantzaris, The Green Tank think tank policy analyst.
"The transition away from fossil fuels in the Western Balkans is coming much faster than governments expect and a Fair Transition Fund is needed to support this process.. This winter, much of the area had difficulties with faults in power plants and the supply of lignite and coal. Obsolete lignite and coal units in Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo were shut down, thus emphasizing the need to accelerate investment in energy efficiency measures and sustainable forms of decentralized energy production from renewable sources,Said Ioana Ciuta of the CEE Bankwatch Network.
