Energy and Environment Problems in the Western Balkans : An Overview of the Ebrd's Response

This paper examines the relationship between the EBRD's project portfolio in the Western Balkan energy sector, and the region's main energy and environment problems. It argues in favour of geographically centered appraisals of the environmental sustainability of multilateral energy investment. Empirical analyses have been placed within the context of this bank's broader policy mandate to support the reconstruction and development of, among other aspects, energy operations in the post-socialist states of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, while promoting environmentally sustainable development in the full range of its activities. The paper categorizes the Western Balkans' energy and environment problems in two main groups: the failure to shift away from carbon-emitting sources of energy, and the inability to introduce efficient technologies in the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy. It investigates the level to which these issues have been represented in the bank's energy investment activities in the region. The observed mismatch between the EBRD's declarative policy commitment to sustainable development and on-site developments in its client countries has been attributed to, among other factors, the strategic selectivity of the relevant states, and the decision-making process within the bank itself. These processes are related to the structural legacies of central planning in ECE, and the organizational culture embedded within the institution at its inception