30 April 2014
30.04.2014- On the occasion of the final meeting of the Czech Experience Transfer project: Activation of the greenhouse gas inventory monitoring system, organized by the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency and supported by UNDP, the main results from the Greenhouse Gas Inventory for the Year 2012 were also presented.
According to the data presented for the year 2012, the total emissions of all greenhouse gases in 2012 reached 9.5 Mt CO2 eq. Carbon dioxide accounts for about 80% of all emissions, while methane and nitrous oxide are about 10%. The so-called new greenhouse gases, such as HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) and PFCs (perfluorocarbons), are almost negligible. The Energy sector is the dominant sector within the total greenhouse gas emissions with 87% of the emissions, within which the Energy Industry category dominates with 75% of the emissions while transport accounts for 12%. Within the total greenhouse gas emissions, the Agriculture sector represents 8% of all emissions, the Waste sector 4%, and the Industrial Processes and Product Use sector 1%.
It is estimated that Kosovo, compared to other countries in Europe, still has relatively low emissions per capita. This occurs mainly due to favorable geographical conditions and due to the absence of energy-intensive industries, intensive agriculture, and waste management. Otherwise, in the meeting held on this occasion, it was stated that although Kosovo is not part of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) or the Kyoto Protocol, the Government of Kosovo, similar to the EU, considers climate change a priority area and is committed to making its contribution to addressing this global challenge.
Deputy Minister of MoH, Mr. Shpëtim Rudin, in his speech, among other things, said that: MoH has drafted the Framework Strategy for Climate Change within which national measures and actions for mitigation and adaptation to climate change have also been planned. Likewise, within the framework of other sectoral Plans and Strategies of the MoH but also of other relevant Ministries, issues related to climate change and greenhouse gases have been taken into consideration.
Meanwhile, the CEO of MFE, in his speech, thanked UNDP and the Czech Government for supporting the project, while the UNDP representative, Ms. Steliana Nedara, expressed satisfaction for the cooperation and the readiness of UNDP to support other projects of this nature as well.
The Czech Experience Transfer Project: Activation of the greenhouse gas inventory monitoring system, is supported by the UNDP office in Kosovo, and by the Czech Trust Fund, implemented by the Environment Center of Charles University in Prague, in cooperation with MMPH/AMMK. The project coordinator, Mr. Miroslav Havranek from Charles University, presented the flow and main activities of the project, while Mr. Rizah Hajdari from AMMK presented the key results from the greenhouse gas inventory for the year 2012. The meeting was also attended by senior representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, UNDP, the Czech Embassy, and representatives from other governmental and non-governmental institutions.
The database for the greenhouse gas (GHG) register will in the future be managed by the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA) and will be used to report to national and international institutions.