Montenegro must improve national environmental policies, strengthen administrative capacities, and significant finances are needed to create and preventively implement "green" regulations.
This was told to "Vijesti" yesterday by the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development. Damjan Ćulafić After the Dubrovnik Declaration was adopted in Dubrovnik, during a ministerial meeting, a document that marks a step forward in the implementation of the Green Agenda in the Western Balkans.
Minister Ćulafić said that the adoption of the Dubrovnik Declaration is of exceptional importance for Montenegro.
"At this meeting, Montenegro demonstrated that it is a leader in European integration in the Western Balkans. By confirming, or voting on, the declaration, Montenegro confirmed that it is strongly committed to European integration," said Ćulafić.
He emphasizes that Montenegro will fully follow the goals of the declaration, including decarbonization, biodiversity protection, investment in the circular economy, and full commitment to harmonizing national legislation with European Union legislation.
Ćulafić said that during yesterday's ministerial meeting, Montenegro was shown "respect and appreciation for the results it is achieving." He stressed that the country had also shown seriousness "by making it clear what challenges still lie ahead."
"These challenges relate to improving national policies, strengthening national administrative capacities, but also to the finances needed to not only create national policies, but also to preventively implement them on the ground," emphasized Ćulafić.
The Dubovac Declaration, announced yesterday after the ministerial meeting, includes four key documents: the revised Action Plan for the Implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans for the period 2025-2030, the Climate Change Adaptation Plan, the Regional Action Plan for the Prevention of Plastic Pollution, including Marine Litter, and the draft Strategic Plan for Biodiversity to 2030. With the support of these documents, it was emphasized, the region is moving from the planning phase to the implementation phase, with clearly defined and measurable goals in the areas of energy transition, climate resilience, circular economy, pollution prevention and nature protection.
The meeting was held in Dubrovnik, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with the support of the European Commission, and within the framework of the United Kingdom's presidency of the Berlin Process 2025.
The Ministers of Environment and Sustainable Development of the region, together with representatives of the European Commission, Germany, the United Kingdom and Croatia, discussed the next steps in implementing the Green Agenda and confirmed the political commitment to further implementing the measures envisaged in the declaration.
Kapetanović: Moving from plans to work
Secretary General of the RCC Amer Kapetanović He stressed that climate change "is no longer a problem of the future, but a reality that is already seriously affecting the region, where temperatures have risen by more than two degrees, almost double the global average."
This, he explained, manifests itself through droughts, floods, fires and reduced agricultural yields, and last year alone, 11 of the 13 largest European fires were in the region.
Kapetanović said that these risks cannot be addressed through reaction alone, but through prevention, adaptation and early intervention. The adoption of the Dubrovnik Declaration, he said, means moving from plans to action.
Kapetanović said that the RCC, together with partners and governments in the region, will monitor the implementation of measures and develop the Green Agenda Observation Platform, a digital tool that will monitor the progress and results of implementation.
He emphasized that all the envisaged goals are in line with the European Union's Green Deal and the Berlin Process, and that this is the way the region is moving closer to the EU.
Kapetanović pointed out that the Declaration and accompanying documents set specific goals, including reducing the availability of the most polluting plastic products, introducing recycled materials in packaging, increasing municipal waste recycling, protecting terrestrial and marine areas, and restoring degraded ecosystems.
According to him, estimates show that the region will need about $37 billion in investment to adapt to climate change over the next ten years, but the benefits will be twice as great, through savings, community resilience, new jobs, and a healthier environment.
"We are moving from plans to action. The Green Agenda is becoming a concrete, measurable and realistic plan," concluded Kapetanović, emphasizing that the RCC will continue to coordinate activities and monitor the progress of all participating countries.
What is the Green Agenda of the region?
The Green Agenda for the Region is an initiative launched on 10 November 2020 at the Berlin Process Summit in Sofia, when the leaders of the six Western Balkan countries signed the Leaders' Declaration, confirming their commitment to a common climate and environmental policy. The commitment was further confirmed at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brdo pri Kranju in 2021, when the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Sofia Declaration for the period 2021-2030 was adopted, which translates political commitments into concrete measures with clearly defined deadlines and responsible institutions, and establishes a framework for coordination and monitoring of progress.
The first annual ministerial meeting on the Green Agenda was held in Hamburg on 8 October 2024 and resulted in the Hamburg Declaration, which confirmed the region's shared commitments and integrated them as a political contribution to the conclusions of the Berlin Process 2024. The second meeting in Dubrovnik, through the adoption of the Dubrovnik Declaration, represents a continuation of that process and contributes to the conclusions of the Berlin Process 2025.
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