New air emissions inventory for Montenegro
Better data and easier reporting with Umweltbundesamt know-how
A central system, in which air emissions and greenhouse gas emissions are estimated and recorded, is the central result of a cooperation between the Umweltbundesamt, the Environment Agency Austria, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Montenegro. Over the past ten months, the Environment Agency Austria has supported the Montenegrin authorities in fundamentally revising the existing inventories and expanding them to include previously missing emission sources. As a result, Montenegro is able to meet the international reporting requirements for air emissions and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2022. On 20 April, the cooperation between the Environment Agency Austria and its Montenegrin partners will be officially concluded with a closing event in Podgorica.
Better monitored air pollutant emissions can be better controlled and reduced. Solid data also creates an important basis for decision-making in politics.
"We support our Montenegrin partners in strengthening their capacities with our know how from more than 120 country partnerships and the experience of more than 35 years of environmental protection and environmental monitoring," explains Federal Environment Agency Managing Director Monika Mörth.
Upgrade for calculation methodology, application and reporting
Technically improved, the air emission and GHG inventory can now be calculated consistently from 1990 onwards. This facilitates reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). In addition, the institutional capacity of EPA Montenegro, responsible for the inventory, has also been strengthened in recent weeks and months. The experts of the Environment Agency Austria have trained their Montenegrin partners in the use of the new inventory in numerous training sessions and have passed on their knowledge and experience in the management and reporting of air emission and GHG inventory data.
The cooperation was made possible by a twinning light project, in which experts from the German Environment Agency and the Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement also participated. The project was funded by the EU (Instrument for Preaccession Assistance, IPA).
Twinning: Cross-border commitment to the environment
Following the principle of country partnerships, the Environment Agency Austria supports new and future EU member states in twinning projects to build up administration and national legislation in accordance with EU standards. Twinning light projects are more flexible and, with a duration of 6-8 months, more medium-term than twinnings, which last between 12 and 36 months. Environmental twinnings aim to transpose EU law into national law, establish necessary administrative structures and introduce new procedures into administrative practice. Even in the first years after accession, new EU member states are still supported by such projects.
Since 1998, the Environment Agency Austria has participated in more than 120 twinning projects in over 27 countries. The knowledge of the expert institution is in demand above all on the topics of climate, circular economy, biodiversity and pollution-free future.
