We, the representatives of 66 Civil Society Organizations and academic-research institutions contributing to climate studies, gathered on March 28, 2023, in Tirana at the “Climate Forum 2023,” discussed the climate emergency and vulnerability of our country, and the level of preparedness to cope with and adapt to the consequences of a changing climate.

Environmental civil society in Albania notes with concern the increasing impact of climate change with direct consequences on the health and safety of various communities, on the economy, and the environment in general. With a temperature rise of +1.09 degrees Celsius in 2011-2020 compared to 1850-1900, climate change is a global reality. This phenomenon presents itself as an increased threat to small countries like Albania, where the frequency of extreme weather events such as floods, prolonged drought, heat waves, forest fires, etc., has increased. About 55% of our country’s population, mainly concentrated in the Western Lowlands, is estimated to be exposed to climate-related risks, a figure higher than the global estimate of 40-45%. Groups such as women and girls, youth, children, and the elderly are among the most vulnerable in these communities.

Just during the three months of this winter, some communities in Shkodra District have found themselves flooded three times under the overflow of the Drin and Buna rivers, burned forest areas and zones threatened the tourist season in many cases, while prolonged droughts have put pressure on the energy and agricultural sectors. The impact of these phenomena has a direct effect on the economy, as it affects hydropower energy production, increased energy consumption, water usage, agricultural and livestock production, directly affecting the security and well-being of the population.

Urban infrastructure, including transport, water-sewage systems, and energy supply systems, are under increased pressure from extreme weather events, affecting service quality and supply, even leading to their interruption, with economic losses and more pronounced impact on the poor segments of the population. According to Energy Community reports, the energy crisis in 2022 has increased to 37% the portion of the Albanian population facing energy poverty.

Climate change, especially with rising temperatures, has brought changes to natural habitats and biodiversity, increasing pressure on the most threatened habitats and species, particularly lagoon and coastal ones, and increasing alien and invasive species. Last but not least, urban areas are those that experience the full aggressiveness of these phenomena, as in three decades of transition, concretization and construction has created an armor over 90% of their surface. The alteration of natural elements in cities forces many citizens to be exposed, against their will, to higher temperatures than those recorded by meteorological centers, in areas with high concentration of air pollutants, risking their health.

We appreciate our country’s position alongside other countries to address this global challenge by taking concrete commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20.9% by 2030 and align with countries aiming to be zero-emission by 2050. Despite progress made in recent years regarding the completion of the legal framework and strategic documents for climate, energy, and natural disaster risk reduction, as well as recent institutional developments in the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, the country remains at a low level of preparedness to address the climate emergency and achieve the expressed objectives for 2030.

Climate issues constitute one of the most important commitments of the European Union, which under the Green Agenda, is carrying out a transformative change of the entire European economy. From the perspective of obligations arising from the European integration process, we view with concern the slow progress in addressing climate issues against the dynamism and rapid developments in European Community member states. Similarly, our country is not effectively using the still untapped opportunities of renewable resources and clean technologies, as well as financial opportunities to reduce the impact of climate change on the population and various sectors of the country.

Last but not least, we emphasize that the impact of changes has worsened existing gender inequalities in Albania by significantly increasing the burden on women in mitigating these impacts both within the family nucleus and in broader socio-economic dimensions. It is important that policies and programs developed in our country alleviate these impacts, which are currently neither recognized nor accepted as such.

Environmental civil society activists and environmental and energy experts note that:

1. The framework of strategic documents for climate remains outdated and unharmonized with developments in the country, region, and European Union. The National Strategy for Climate Change adopted in 2019 is assessed as not supporting the country’s development priorities in climate protection, listing outdated interventions and measures, without financial assessment and without reflecting institutional obligations for their fulfillment.

2. Climate issues still remain unintegrated across all sectors and development policies of the country. Although included in strategic documents such as the National Plan for Climate and Energy, other sectors facing the consequences of climate change, such as Agriculture, Livestock, Transport, Tourism, Healthcare do not have climate issues integrated, fragmenting interventions and affecting the efficiency of mainly adaptive measures. The objectives set to be achieved by 2030 or even further by 2050 are not reflected and integrated into sectoral action plans.

3. Addressing climate issues should be seen as linked to transformative interventions in key sectors of the Albanian economy, where planning and support so far has been seen as unrelated to climate, but to other driving factors, such as the energy crisis, rising agricultural product prices, natural disasters, etc. After a long period of stagnation or unsustainable developments, such as the construction of small HPPs or energy production from mobile fossil fuel combustion plants, the energy sector seems to be forced to open up to renewable energies. The Energy Community has criticized the slowness in taking measures and investments to increase the contribution of these energies to the total energy produced in the country. Other sectors contributing to our country’s greenhouse gas emissions, such as transport and waste, still remain without a clear climate-related focus. Their development is still seen as a solution to short-term problems, from which climate protection will also benefit. Still little attention is paid to energy efficiency.

4. Financial resources to address climate issues and the consequences of climate change are insufficient and do not guarantee the achievement of objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions or taking adaptive measures by 2030. Review of costs to address climate measures listed in the National Strategy for Climate Change against the budget given for 2020-2021, presents an uncovered financial need up to 7 times. We note with concern that evaluating the effectiveness of using financial resources from the state budget or foreign funds is almost unidentifiable due to the impossibility of tracing climate-dedicated funds in the country’s account system.

5. Human resources at all levels of governance and agencies remain very limited and unqualified. The problem is even more acute at the local level where advancement is required regarding various local plans that will address climate issues. This aspect has been repeatedly referred to for several consecutive years in European Commission reports for our country.

6. The transition to a carbon-neutral economy, through which communities in our country must pass, will have social and financial impact. The principle of just transition requires at least ensuring a transparent process. As Civil Society activists, we believe that the Ministry of Tourism and Environment’s approach should be inclusive and open.

7. The Ministry and Agencies under its dependency do not implement the legal framework in force, regarding monitoring, tracking, and penalizing violations related to polluting emissions into the environment.

We, the representatives of Civil Society Organizations, request from responsible policy-making and law-enforcement institutions to evaluate with the highest seriousness the climate emergency facing the country and region. This need for quick, integrated, and coherent treatment with European policies becomes more pronounced due to our country’s inability to cope with these consequences due to their increased frequency and the limitations that our country’s institutions and economy have.

To address these issues, we request:

(i) revision of the National Strategy for Climate Change and faster advancement in preparing other strategic documents, such as the National Adaptation Plan, Local Energy and Climate Plans, Local Plans for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction.

(ii) revision of the Government’s decision on the Gas Masterplan, taking into consideration CO2 emissions, as well as measures for their balancing.

(iii) completion of the legal and regulatory framework for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and promoting the widespread use of renewable energies and clean technologies. In this context, to review the contract signed between KESH and companies Excelerate Energy and Renco, as the in-depth EIA for floating TPP refers to a 7-13% increase in CO2 emissions compared to 2016.

(iv) Completion of the legal and regulatory framework for implementing pollution monitoring created by key economic sectors, such as food and extractive industries, agriculture, transport, and tourism.

(v) increasing public involvement in discussing climate issues and addressing problems related to climate consequences by prioritizing the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable populations facing these consequences to increase their security and enable service provision;

(vi) increasing transparency regarding funds and investments dedicated to or affecting climate, especially in key economic sectors, such as energy, agriculture, livestock, transport, and waste management.

(vii) planning and programming of funds addressed for climate in EU programs, focusing on adaptation and prevention of climate consequences, especially for vulnerable communities and those in need.

(viii) support for building and strengthening professional capacities for addressing climate-related issues in responsible institutions, including local government units and civil society.

(ix) supporting specific education programs and encouraging activism in climate protection through concrete initiatives at the community level.

The consequences of climate change know no state or administrative boundaries; they do not choose which communities to affect. As representatives of civil society, we are aware of the contribution we must make, alongside all other actors in Albanian society, therefore we express our readiness to be an active part of climate discussion and action.