Environmental groups in the region are urging the European Union to stop promoting gas use in the Western Balkans, Klix.ba writes.
The request was made in a letter sent by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They said that the EU is much more dependent on this energy source than the Western Balkans.
“Serbia and parts of Northern Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina use Russian gas, mainly for heating. Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro have no gas networks at all,” they noted.
According to environmentalists, despite the Western Balkans’ commitment to phasing out fossil fuels by 2050, the Commission has actively encouraged gas consumption in recent years, mainly through the Southern Gas Corridor in Azerbaijan.
They stressed that this was the case, although 20 percent of the Shah Deniz gas field project is owned by the Russian company Lukoil.
In the mentioned letter, they asked the EU to increase investments in sustainable energy, which they pointed out was neglected in the region.
“Promoting increased natural gas use in the Western Balkans at this stage of the global climate crisis is irresponsible and counterproductive. Since we are committed to decarbonising all sectors, including the heating and transport sectors, our low dependence on gas as an energy source is an advantage.
“The new gas infrastructure, the construction of which is also promoted by our politicians, will further hinder the necessary accelerated development of renewable sources and will certainly end up as ‘stranded assets’,” said Denis Zisko of the Aarhus Center Tuzla.
The signatories of the letter are 36 environmental organizations.
