After obtaining approvals from the Federation Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Republika Srpska (RS) Government, the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Council of Ministers adopted today the National Emission Reduction Plan (NERP). This plan was developed with assistance from USAID and submitted to the European Energy Community Secretariat before the end of the year, achieving a key milestone in accordance with BiH obligations under the Energy Community Treaty.
Implementation of the NERP will significantly reduce pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which represents one of the major threats to citizens’ health and well-being, especially in the winter months. Implementation of the NERP will reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide by 95%, nitrogen oxides by more than 60% and dust by about 90%. The economic impact of these negative effects is estimated at more than 4 billion KM annually. The health and environmental benefits of implementation greatly exceed the plan’s implementation costs, estimated at approximately 640 million BAM.
USAID, through its Energy Investment Activity, provided technical assistance to Elektroprivreda BiH, Elektroprivreda RS, entity-level ministries, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations to develop emission reduction plans for the four thermal power plants in BiH. USAID’s technical assistance in developing the NERP and in negotiations with the European Energy Community Secretariat further resulted in a 50 million KM-reduction in required investment for implementation.
The USAID Energy Investment Activity is a $5.47 million program that helps BiH attract investment and create jobs in the energy sector.
To date, the U.S. Government, primarily through USAID, has provided more than $1.6 billion in assistance to support economic, democratic and social progress in BiH.
