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National employees: 131International employees: 17Integrated experts: 3
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working in Albania since 1988. A country office opened in Tirana in 2008.
Until a few years ago, Albania was the poorest country in Europe. The country has made great progress since then and is now a candidate for accession to the European Union (EU). However, not everyone is benefiting from the economic development: youth unemployment is high and currently stands at 26per cent. Fortyper cent of the population work in agriculture and often have lower incomes than people in urban areas.
Albania is affected by climate change. Scenarios forecast rising temperatures, decreasing precipitation and falling water levels. As the country is dependent on hydropower, climate change is also having an impact on the energy supply. Albania is already formally compliant with EU directives in respect of waste and wastewater. In practice, however, dealing with these remains challenging.
The Government has implemented reforms aimed at modernising the economy and public administration and establishing principles of good governance. Priorities such as a strong justice system, citizen participation, efficient municipal administration and reducing the level of corruption remain important.
In Albania, GIZ mainly operates on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the EU. Its work focuses on:
GIZ works together with the private sector, intermediary organisations and the Government to promote economic development, training and employment. It helps companies to broaden their skills and develop innovative models. In agriculture and rural tourism, this contributes to higher incomes and the increased appeal of rural regions. Green and digital skills are increasingly included in general and vocational education. This means that young people are specifically learning skills that are in demand on the labour market.
In the field of climate and energy, GIZ is helping the country to adapt to the effects of climate change. It is promoting climate-friendly urban mobility with the development of public transport systems and creating incentives for footpaths and cycling. GIZ is also advising Albania on diversifying energy generation and harmonising municipal waste and wastewater management with a circular economy.
In the field of good governance, GIZ is helping to make accession negotiations for the EU internal market participatory. In the regions, it is promoting increased foreign trade as well as a crackdown on organised crime. It is also improving municipal services and fostering both youth exchange and media freedom.
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In 2019 the European Union adopted the Clean Energy for All Europeans package that, among others, introduced to the EU legislation the concept of "energy communities". This is an important milestone in democratizing energy transition by supporting citizens and local communities to actively shape the energy system.
A study by the University of Delft estimates that by 2050 83% of EU households could become energy citizens by contributing to renewable energy production, management or storage. This is a big opportunity to transform the energy system, not just from fossil fuels to renewables but also from centralized towards locally embedded, community-owned solutions that not only offer greater flexibility and resilience but also strengthen energy democracy.
A study published by Milieukontakt and presented at a national meeting on June 9, 2021, emphasizes that the concept of energy community is not well-known in Albania and that it needs time to be introduced and embraced by people.
Albania''s national Energy Strategy already highlights various aspects related to minimizing network losses, increasing primary resources, energy saving, reducing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing the share of renewable energy sources to 42% by 2030. Although several important European energy directives have been transposed into Albanian legislation, the concept of "energy communities" is currently missing in national legislation. The energy sector legislation does mention the concept of "prosumers", but there are no financial incentives or regulations included to support energy communities.
The main objective of the national meeting was to inform the public about the regulatory framework for renewable energy, the main actors and their interrelationships, and to find the best ways to increase citizens'' engagement in community energy. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, the National Agency for Natural Resources, the Energy Efficiency Agency, representatives of the municipality of Tirana and Shkodra, NGOs and experts in the field. The discussions focused on the current national policy on energy and renewable energy, as well as on the possibilities of establishing "energy communities" in Albania and identifying successful business models for overcoming obstacles and challenges.
Mrs. Klodiana Bici, from the Directorate of Co-owned Buildings in the Municipality of Tirana, presented the successful models and mechanisms used by the municipality to involve citizens and address issues arising from co-ownership and to cultivate the mentality of cooperation. The projects supported by the municipality in the framework of the Community Fund Initiative (50/50) are, in 90% of the cases, energy conservation and thermal insulation/renovation projects, which confirms the sensitivity of this topic.
Ms. Katerina Marku, an expert from the Energy Efficiency Agency (EEA), presented some projects implemented by the agency. For heating alone, households in Korca use 100,000 m3 of wood, which causes health and environmental problems through the emission of CO2 into the air. EEA is working on a feasibility study for the creation of a heating system that excludes the use of wood, as a first step in tackling this problem. Other pilot projects cover smart city lighting, fast charging, inter-city urban transport, the efficiency of drinking water installations and waste water treatment. The future is electric, so the infrastructure must be adequate.
The EUCENA project will inform and engage citizens in the start-up of energy projects, as well as support the topics of energy transition and the establishment of energy communities in Albania based on the experiences of other European countries. Very soon, the project will launch an open online course, in the MOOC system, with information and knowledge for both beginners and advanced citizens on energy and renewable sources.
This activity is realized within the project European Citizen Energy Academy, "EUCENA" supported by the program "EUKI" - European Climate Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety in Germany.
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Table 9.1 Reproduced from "Bioclimatic housing, Innovative designs for warm climates" by Klodjan Xhexhi, with permission from "R.Hyde"
Figure 9.6 Reproduced from "The potential influence of building optimization and passive design strategies on natural ventilation systems in underground buildings: The state of the art" by Klodjan Xhexhi, with permission from "A.Mukhtar"
Figure 9.7 Reproduced from "Shallow groundwater thermal sensitivity to climate change and land cover disturbances: derivation of analytical expressions and implications for stream temperature modeling" by Klodjan Xhexhi, with permission from "B. L. Kurylyk"
Figure 9.8 Reproduced from "https://solatube /2018/09/11/polye-trubchatye-svetovody-v-hramovom-stroitelstve/" by Klodjan Xhexhi, with permission from "Yuriy Selyanin"
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The 3rd Tirana Energy Forum, organized by the Institute of Energy for SE Europe (IENE) in collaboration with SEA Consulting, was successfully held on Thursday, May 30, in the Albanian capital
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