For the second year in a row, Bosnia and Herzegovina remains one of the largest regional sulfur dioxide emitters from thermal coal power plants included in national plans for the reduction of emissions, as stated in the “Comply or Close 2026” report published by the CEE Bankwatch Network.
Authors of the report warn that emissions from thermal power plants in the Western Balkans, even eight years after the deadline to implement regulations, remain “staggeringly high.”
In 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia once again exceeded the allowed limits for all three regulated pollutants: sulfur dioxide, dust, and nitrogen oxides.
Total sulfur dioxide emissions from regional thermal power plants were 6.6 times the allowed limit, which the report describes as “the largest relative exceedance since 2018.”
Ugljevik and Gacko
The report singles out the Ugljevik thermal power plant, urging it to operate its flue-gas desulfurization equipment “immediately and continuously,” backed by real-time monitoring to ensure the system is always used.
Urgent action is needed to reduce dust emissions from Gacko. Possible solutions include reducing working hours or installing new equipment, based on realistic assessments of the power plant’s remaining lifespan.
Tuzla and Kakanj
One of the key recommendations for the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina refers to the Tuzla 4 and Kakanj 5 units. The report requests that the decision to extend their operational life be canceled and the power plants shut down.
It is also requested that the shutdown of the Tuzla 3 unit be officially confirmed.
The authors also recommend penalties for the power utilities Elektroprivreda BiH and Elektroprivreda RS for exceeding permitted emissions. Additionally, penalties are recommended for EP BiH if the Tuzla 4 and Kakanj 5 units continue to operate after the eventual revocation of the extension decision.
Choice: Shutting Down or Collapsing
The report warns that, despite years of regulatory violations, “not a single company in the region went unpunished” for non-compliance.
Authors stated that there is now a “serious danger of an uncontrolled coal phase-out,” with unnecessarily severe consequences for communities dependent on mines and thermal power plants.
“The only realistic choice for many utility power plants is now between controlled, gradual shutting down and collapse,” the report states.
There is a request for Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt a utility and climate plan with clear deadlines for a coal phase-out, along with an economic justification for any potential new investments to reduce emissions in the Kakanj 7 and Tuzla 6 units.
Authors also recommend setting the earliest possible deadlines for shutting down the Gacko, Kakanj 6, and Tuzla 5 units, as they consider that substantial investments to reduce pollution for those units will probably not be economically justified.
In the end, the report calls on Bosnia and Herzegovina to officially drop the planned thermal power plants Ugljevik III and Gacko II, and not replace coal dependency with gas dependency, N1 writes.
