The European Commission's Report on Kosovo, published in 2024 (http://bit.ly/4fg0vjO), highlights that when it comes to the environment and climate change, Kosovo is at an early stage of preparation and has made limited progress. In this regard, the adoption of the Law on Climate Change in December 2023 is considered the only significant development.

Meanwhile, administrative capacities and human resources across the sector, according to the EU, are at a very low level, representing a major obstacle to its fair and progressive development.

The Commission’s recommendations from the previous year, according to the report, have been partially addressed and largely remain valid. Therefore, Kosovo is urged to demonstrate political commitment by significantly strengthening the administrative capacities of the environment and climate sectors at both the local and central levels. Additionally, it must revise the Law and the integrated strategy on waste management, ensure that appropriate measures are taken for the real prevention of pollution in protected areas and their proper management, and urgently adopt the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), while also implementing the Climate Change Law, especially the framework for monitoring, reporting, verification, and accreditation of greenhouse gas emissions, with the aim of introducing carbon pricing to align its legal framework with the EU Emissions Trading System.

In the environmental field, regarding horizontal issues, further efforts are needed to review and adopt strategies, action plans, and appropriate legislation to ensure compliance with the objectives of the Green Agenda and to implement commitments under the Energy Community Decarbonization Roadmap.

“The capacities of environmental authorities at both central and local levels to implement and enforce the environmental acquis remain very limited, seriously hindering progress in this sector,” the report states.

It emphasizes that structural reforms continue to be delayed, while insufficient political engagement and financial resources represent key challenges to implementing the strategic framework. “The adoption of the strategy for environmental protection and sustainable development for the period 2022–2033 is still pending. Full alignment with the EU’s Environmental Liability and Environmental Crime Directives has not yet been completed. The implementation of strategic environmental assessments and environmental impact assessment legislation is not consistently applied,” the report says, also noting that public awareness about the importance of environmental protection remains limited.

Despite some improvements regarding air quality, the European Commission’s report stresses that “it continues to pose a major health risk due to delays in implementing appropriate measures to stop air pollution.”

Some progress has also been noted in the implementation of waste management legislation, but it is emphasized that “the very limited inspection capacity of central-level institutions must be urgently increased.” Legal amendments are also needed in waste management to set recycling targets and promote the circular economy.

According to the report, Kosovo has also made limited progress in water management by adopting and implementing an improved water strategy. “The adoption of a new Water Law and the approval of river basin management plans are still pending. The capacities of key institutions at both central and local levels, public enterprises, and river basin authorities remain low and require further strengthening,” the report says.

Limited progress is also evident in nature protection with the declaration of three new protected areas. However, Kosovo must begin the identification and preliminary designation of sites to be included in the Natura 2000 network. According to the report, these areas lack proper management as they continue to be polluted, poorly maintained, suffer from illegal activities, and face a lack of enforcement and oversight capacities at both central and local levels.

The report finds that there has been no progress in aligning with the acquis on industrial pollution, chemicals, and noise.

Regarding civil protection, Kosovo has made some progress by adopting the national disaster response plan and the related strategy for the 2023–2028 period. “Coordination between central and local levels remains insufficient. Kosovo made no progress in developing a national risk assessment of needs and did not draft a recovery strategy,” the report states.

As for climate change, Kosovo has made some progress by adopting the Climate Change Law. “However, a climate neutrality target by 2050 is lacking, and the adoption and implementation of the related legislation is still pending. The approval of decarbonization and adaptation strategies is also pending. The National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) must be adopted as soon as possible. The legislative framework for the monitoring, reporting, verification, and accreditation of greenhouse gas emissions must be developed and implemented, along with a carbon pricing mechanism to align with the EU Emissions Trading System. In parallel, Kosovo must implement measures for climate change adaptation and mitigation,” the report says, also calling for the strengthening of institutional capacities, including inspections.

The European Union promotes strong climate action, sustainable development, and environmental protection. EU rules include provisions for addressing climate change, water and air quality, waste management, nature protection, as well as issues related to industrial pollution, chemicals, noise, and civil protection.