Annual meeting of the Initiative for coal regions in transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine

The Initiative for coal regions in transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine invited all interested stakeholders to join its annual meeting. The aim of the event was to support open, multi-stakeholder dialogue on coal phase out and just transition towards sustainable energy sources in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

The meeting brought together representatives of national and regional public authorities, international organisations, energy sectors, NGOs, academia, businesses and media. It was an opportunity for stakeholders to understand the main challenges in the road towards decarbonisation of the energy sector in coal regions, the socio-economic impact in the transition to clean energy, and the main perspectives of the energy transition. Participants were able to discover exchange opportunities across coal regions and be informed about how to take part in these activities.

The event also shed light on the benefits of cross-border cooperation, positive examples of transition in other countries, as well as synergies with the Initiative for coal regions in transition in the European Union. Finally, the meeting featured presentations and updates from the European Commission and international partners leading the initiative.

Interpretation to Albanian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian, Russian, and Ukrainian was provided.

Presentations

Annual meeting report

For social media: #coalregionsWBUA

Contact: eventsWBUAcoalregions [dot] eu (eventsWBUA[at]coalregions[dot]eu)

Video recordings

• Opening and keynote speeches
• Voices from the coal regions on socio-economic challenges - panel discussion 1

• Voices from the coal regions on environmental / repurposing challenges - panel discussion 2

• Voices from the coal regions on clean energy transition - panel discussion 3

• Updates from the initiative’s secretariat and international partners leading the initiative

• Coal regions exchange programme launch and closing of the meeting

Background

The initiative was launched in December 2020. It is led by the European Commission and 6 collaborating international partners: the World Bank, the Energy Community secretariat, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Poland’s National Fund for Environment Protection and Water Management (NFOSiGW), and the College of Europe in Natolin.

*The designation of Kosovo is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.