Author Description

Accurate and complete environmental information is at the basis of any effective sustainable development policy. This report summarises for the first time the status of air, climate, water and soil in the Western Balkans (WB), describing current knowledge as of 2021 and gaps with respect to the EU aquis in order to: a) benchmark the progress during the accession process, and b) support the implementation of the Green Agenda for the WB with particular reference to depollution and decarbonisation priorities. This information is also relevant for the EU Green Deal zero pollution ambition, as depollution in WB also reduces pollutant levels in neighbouring EU Member States. Despite significant improvements in the alignment of the climate and GHG emissions monitoring and reporting legislation and the good progress in the areas of air and water pollution in the latest two years, the EU aquis implementation is still lagging. The overall WB air quality situation is still critical and the pollution trend is often upwards, despite PM10 and PM2.5 concentration have decreased in certain areas. Due to its dominant impact on mortality, PM2.5 can be considered the main pollutant to target in the WB. The energy sector, in particular coal-fuelled power plants, is the major source of SO2 and CO2 emissions and an important source of other pollutants. It offers a concrete opportunity for co-benefits between air quality and climate policies. The increase in intensity and frequency of summer heatwaves in the latest decades is an indicator of climate change in the WB and the need to design appropriate adaptation plans to cope with it. The status of waterbodies in the WB can generally be assessed as unsatisfactory. In the case of chemical status, 45% of waterbodies assessed failed to reach good status, while in the ecological assessment 54% failed to reach good status. Case studies on antibiotic resistance, as well as effect-based studies on mixtures of pollutants confirmed that aquatic eco