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Croatia has developed its administrative capacity
for climate change issues. According to the Air
Protection Act (Official Gazette No. 130/11, 47/14),
the Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection
is responsible for climate change issues, and is the
national focal point for the UNFCCC. The Directorate
of Climate Activities, Sustainable Development and
Protection of Air, Soil and Sea, hosted by this Ministry,
carries out administrative and technical work related
to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The
Commission for Inter-Sectoral Coordination of
Policies and Measures to Mitigate and Adapt to
Climate Change has been appointed by the Decision
of the Government (Official Gazette No. 114/14). The
Commission includes institutional representatives
of ministries and agencies to discuss policy issues,
while experts and practitioners from various sectoral
institutions will address technical issues. Being an EU
member, Croatia has full access to EU funds for the
development of its climate-related strategies, as well
as for their implementation. According to the Air
Protection Act (Official Gazette No. 130/11, 47/14),
the implementation of climate change adaptation
measures will be financed also by the Environmental
Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund.
FYR Macedonia ratified the UNFCCC in 1997 and
the Kyoto Protocol in 2004. The government of
FYR Macedonia submitted the First, Second and
Third National Communications to the UNFCCC
Secretariat in 2003, 2008 and 2014, respectively. The
First Biennial Update Report will be carried out in the
coming two years. Taking into consideration the EU
association process, FYR Macedonia needs to develop
a comprehensive policy and strategy on climate
change, in accordance with the expected EU 2030
policy framework for climate and energy. The country
has not yet put forward a mitigation commitment for
2020, as required by the Copenhagen Accord that it
signed. Climate change issues are incorporated into the
Law on Environment, which details the preparation
of GHG emissions inventory (Article 188), and
adoption of a National Plan for Mitigation (Article
187). In 2000, the Climate Change Project Office was
established within the Ministry of Environment and
Physical Planning aimed at improving the monitoring
and coordination process of the implementation of
UNFCCC in FYR Macedonia. This Office provides
logistic support to the National Climate Change
Committee – the inter-ministerial body meant to
supervise and coordinate the implementation of
UNFCCC, and climate change-related activities. The
Committee is comprised of government institution’s
representatives, but also has members from public
institutions and the non-government sector.
Domestic financial support for climate adaptation
activities is limited: there are no allocations for
climate change response within the relevant
ministries’ budgets. The projects handling climate
change were thereforemainly funded by international
organizations such as UNDP, GEF and USAID, as
well as bilateral and multilateral donors.
Montenegro forests are extremely important from
the ecosystem and economic perspective. Tourism
is considered as very important for the overall
economy of Montenegro. Montenegro became a
member of the UNFCCC as a non-Annex 1 Party
in 2007 and ratified the Kyoto Protocol the same
year. It prepared and submitted its First National
Communication in 2010, while the Second National
Communication was submitted to the UNFCCC in
May 2015. National Strategy on Climate Change by
2030 was adopted by the government of Montenegro
in September 2015. The Strategy has a strong
focus on mitigation, but strongly recommends
development of the National Adaptation Plan, for
which it provides detailed guidance.
Montenegro is in the process of transposing the
acquis communautaire into its national legislation,
particularly in environment and energy sectors, due
to its membership of the Energy Community. Based
on the Proposal of the new Law on Environment,
Montenegro needs to adopt a national plan for
climate change mitigation and another to combat
desertification and soil pollution. The Technology
Needs Assessment for Climate Change Mitigation
and Adaptation (National Strategy and Action Plan)
was adopted in 2012.
The Ministry for Spatial Planning and Environment
is the body responsible for environmental policy,
including climate change. The Environmental
Protection Agency plays an important role in its
implementation through permitting, inspection
control, monitoring and reporting. The Agency
maintains a national GHG Inventory. Another