The Western Balkans region is experiencing economic growth but faces challenges in environmental sustainability, particularly in the transport sector. Transport accounts for 15% of the region's greenhouse gas emissions and is the fastest-growing emitting sector. Urgent policy action is needed to address growing energy consumption and emissions and to enable investment for urban interventions. This has environmental implications and affects human health and energy security.
Policies need to focus on improving the environmental performance of internal combustion engine vehicles and preparing the region for a transition towards electric mobility. These policies should be effective, economically viable, equitable, and able to mobilize private investment. A combination of regulatory requirements, carefully designed incentive programs, vehicle and fuel taxation reforms, and support for e-mobility can help the region make significant progress towards a cleaner and more technologically advanced vehicle fleet. Recommendations on priority policy action in this area are presented in the report "Policies to Improve the Environmental Performance of Road Vehicles in the Western Balkans."
Each Western Balkans country requires a tailored transport decarbonization and electrification transition pathway and implementation agenda, considering country-specific dynamics, equity and economic implications, and political economy aspects. Such a tailored approach was developed for Serbia, as presented in the report "A Pathway to Decarbonization of the Vehicle Fleet in Serbia and the Role of Electric Mobility."
Urban Mobility
Cities in the Western Balkans might particularly benefit from investments in urban transport systems, which often fail to meet growing mobility demand, leading to issues such as traffic congestion, air pollution, and a lack of accessibility to jobs and services.
A study by the World Bank Group, "Western Balkans Urban Mobility Initiative," has delved into urban mobility challenges in ten selected Western Balkans cities, providing recommendations for improvements and investments. The cities being studied include Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Pristina, Skopje, Tirana, Durres, and Podgorica. These urban centers contribute significantly to economic output and employment but face challenges such as urban sprawl, economic imbalances, and air pollution.
Addressing the region's urban mobility challenges requires modernizing public transport, enhancing walking and cycling infrastructure, and implementing effective parking management. Cities need to adopt green and accessible public transport fleets improve service quality and continue exploring e-mobility options. Robust municipal financing is essential for sustaining urban transport systems; governments should capture land value increases as a financing source. Moreover leveraging private sector efficiency through PPPs implementing concession-based public transport models enhancing technical management capacity are critical for successfully delivering urban mobility strategies.
For more insights and recommended policy actions to promote greener transportation in the Western Balkans see our reports.