Appropriate Climate Action governance

Energy and climate policies and targets need to be taken into account and integrated in Western Balkan economies’ finance, labour, taxation, transport, industryand agriculture policies (Interational Energy Agency, 2021) . The responsibilities of different institutions and sectors in meeting energy and climate targets need to be clearly defined.

Proper management of climate action requires the separation of functions for monitoring,  reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions (on the one hand) and the establishment of a system for monitoring the implementation of policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. and measures to adapt the vulnerable sectors to climate change (from the other hand).

Transparency in reporting, in a manner established by the UN and EU legislation, is at the heart of EU legislation. It provides a mechanism for building trust between states about the extent to which emissions reductions goals have been achieved.

This is a technical, but very complex and professional work and requires either the existence of expert bodies to carry them out (agencies), or the delegation of competencies to other scientific and private entities (which should be accompanied by appropriate financial support). The third (hybrid) option is  this task to be incorporated as a legal obligation of an existing professional or academic body, for which it would independently invest in building its own staff on a sustainable basis, which would return the investment to the institution as independent and internationally recognized auditors.

The second cluster of the appropriate energz and climate governance mechanism is the political one, represented through the work of, for ex., the Green Agreement Council. One option could be to establish an independent body for energy and climate policy making and coordination. Western Balkan economies should consider establishing a Green Deal Council or similar independent body for energy and climate policy making and coordination, for the organisation of public consultations and dialogue with all stakeholders and to inform and inspire nation- wide debate on energy and climate policies.

Any mechanism to apply should be legally regulated, but it should be feasible and possible and confirmed by a clearly expressed political will for its functioning articulated with adequate human and technical capacity.