The TERPEIS Balkans project aims to support a just and sustainable energy transition in the Western Balkans, aligning with the European Union’s climate neutrality goals and the commitments of the Paris Agreement. This project focuses on enhancing the scientific and social components within existing regional initiatives, particularly the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.
The goal of this project is to deepen understanding of climate goals and the necessary measures to achieve them through consultations with decision-makers, civil society organisations, academia, and industry representatives. It contributes to more ambitious climate policies and their alignment with EU regulations on climate neutrality by supporting the development of more aspiring NECPs, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-term Strategies (LTSs) for accession to the EU ETS.
This project facilitates the alignment of the target countries’ climate and energy policies with the EU ETS and CBAM by supporting policymakers, the private sector, civil society, and academia and building their analytical capacity. As a result, they will be able to implement climate change mitigation measures and reduce emissions from sectors such as steel, cement, electricity, and chemicals.
Specific goals of the project include:
- Raising awareness of the risks of non-alignment with the Paris Agreement among policymakers, industry, and civil society stakeholders. The stakeholders will have increased knowledge about and capacity to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
- Enhancing knowledge and skills related to emissions reduction processes among industry stakeholders of sectors impacted by the EU ETS or CBAM.
- Strengthening capacities to implement necessary mitigation measures in line with 1.5ºC pathways will be increased among policymakers, industry, and civil society stakeholders.
The main activities of the project include:
- Developing and presenting national emission pathways compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
- Organizing consultative workshops on aligning national strategic documents with the Paris Agreement.
- Conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses of the impact of expanding the EU ETS and introducing CBAM on high-emission sectors.
- Presenting the impacts of EU ETS expansion or CBAM introduction to representatives of affected sectors, and highlighting EU funding opportunities for decarbonization in sectors covered by the EU ETS.
- Establishing a regional community of experts to exchange best practices and network.
- Producing industry decarbonization reports based on consultations with the community of experts.
The project is implemented by a consortium of partner organizations, including the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI) from Serbia, the Regional Education and Information Centre for Sustainable Development in Southeast Europe (REIC) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Resource Environmental Center (REC) from Albania, led by the international organization Climate Analytics. Running from November 2023 to September 2026, the project is supported by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).