Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania are aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050. While their current energy and climate policies are not all compatible with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature limit, their endorsement of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans has aligned their ambitions to key elements of the European Green Deal.

This project aims to facilitate more ambitious climate policies in each country and to align these with existing EU regulations on climate neutrality – in particular, the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The ultimate objective is to assist these countries to reduce emissions from emissions-intensive sectors such as power, steel, cement, and chemicals.

The project will see us devise economy-wide 1.5°C emissions reductions pathways for each of the countries. These pathways will then be stress-tested with policymakers, industry stakeholders and civil society groups through a variety of workshops, seminars and targeted interviews and the facilitation of a community of experts in the region. Civil society representatives will also be supported by our local partners in the formulation and monitoring of climate policies to enhance the policy processes.

1.5°C aligned pathways for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is due to come into effect in 2026.

Carbon-intensive goods covered by CBAM include electricity, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, iron, steel, and hydrogen. For exporters to avoid CBAM costs, they will need to reduce the carbon intensity of the sectors covered by the regulation.

In a four-part series, we look at risk and resilience to the CBAM in the electricity, iron and steel, cement, and chemical sectors in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. This work is produced through desk research, interviews and workshops with industry stakeholders across the three countries.

Decarbonising electricity, cement, iron and steel, and chemicals in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia