Launch of the Western Balkans Coal Regions in Transition Public Perception Survey

The World Bank’s Energy & Extractives Global Practice, together with the Energy Community Secretariat, launched on 11 October the Western Balkans Coal Regions in Transition Public Perception Survey, to be conducted across the coal regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The objective of the survey is to understand awareness, perspectives and expectations of citizens living in these coal regions related to the concept of Just Transition.

The survey was designed taking into account inputs from CSOs active in the region. The methodology will include both qualitative and quantitative data collection via a questionnaire administered in local languages. The questions mostly focus on determining participants’ knowledge, perceptions, understandings and expectations of the concept of the Just Transition. The questionnaire respondents will be selected on a randomized basis based on the sample frame.

A final report will present the survey’s key findings and identify the key issues facing coal regions, the key institutions involved in coal regions and the priorities and likely development strategies.

Results will play an integral role in informing stakeholder engagement and citizen engagement strategies with respect to a Just Transition in these coal regions, in the World Bank’s technical assistance and Energy Community’s work on the energy transition going forward.

The survey is being conducted under the umbrella of the initiative for Coal Regions in Transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine, managed by the European Commission and launched in December 2020 to help countries and regions to move away from coal towards a carbon-neutral economy, while ensuring that this transition is just.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.