Cooperation on energy efficiency in Albania

From 19-25 October 2013  Oxfam organized presentations of the “Guidelines of Energy efficiency at national level” in five municipalities in Albania: Shkoder, Vau Dejes, Koplik, Puka and Fus Arrez. The guidelines are created for use by Municipalities and communes, their political representatives, administrative managers and experts who should play the greatest role in the energy sector, in reducing air pollution in the local or global environment, according to their situation.

The guidelines and presentations are part of the activities under the project “Renewable Energy Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Albania and in Bosnia –Herzegovina”, implemented by Oxfam in collaboration IFAD,  financed by Central European Initiative (CEI).

Urban, demographic and economic changes increase the energy consumption in cities. This leads to increase in air pollution not only in cities, but also in the suburbs. These effects, such as carbon emissions and the greenhouse effects, cause damage to the entire planet. Regional, national, community policies as well as new researches in technology are key elements in the decision-making processes. Being closer to their citizens and other economic agents, these institutions are the “perfect protagonists” in designing new energy policies based on the analysis of needs and demands of their population in order to define suitable policies in the exploitation of local energy resources.

In the last fifteen years, large number of European cities has implemented action plans to improve the efficiency of energy consumption related to their buildings, systems of energy production and distribution, transport, management of local wastes as well as the optimal use of local resources.