Green Deal in Southeast Europe | 2020 edition

The 2020 edition of our Green Deal in Southeast Europe report focuses on Southеast Europe’s place in the long-term energy transition and decarbonisation objectives of the EU and Energy Community, the region’s policy course to 2030 and the potential for sustained investment in renewables to underpin socio-economic development.

If we are to name the one key challenge in SEE’s energy transformation at the start of the decade, that is undoubtedly its dependence on coal. Coal and lignite accounted for an average of 36.8% in SEE countries’ energy mix in 2018. That share went as high as 94.7% in Kosovo and accounted for significant shares in some of the SEE countries that are EU members.

As of 2020, Southeast Europe had been slow to recognise the investment potential of renewable energy largely due to outdated regulatory frameworks and illiquid energy markets as well as the persisting perception that green energy is expensive. We examine the energy mix and goals of key energy markets in the region, the challenges lying ahead and the business case for green corporate investments- a major driver of future renewable energy capacity additions.