Local Cooperation as a Driver of the Energy Transition

When we talk about the energy transition, we usually focus on large power plants, national strategies, investments, and targets to be achieved over the coming decades. However, most of these changes must ultimately take place where people live: in our cities and municipalities.

Local governments manage public buildings, schools, kindergartens, street lighting, and other infrastructure that consumes energy on a daily basis. At the same time, they are the first level of government that citizens turn to when they want to improve the energy efficiency of their homes or learn about available support programs. For this reason, the energy transition cannot succeed unless cities and municipalities have sufficient knowledge, capacity, and concrete projects.

Experience also shows something else: we do not have to solve every challenge on our own.

That is perhaps the most important takeaway I brought back from the regional workshop held in early July in Shkodër, organized by the German Energy Agency (dena) and NALED, which brought together representatives of local governments from across the Western Balkans. Around the same table sat representatives of cities and municipalities from Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kosovo*. We discussed the energy efficiency of public and residential buildings, energy management, citizen support programs, and ways to transform local ideas into projects capable of attracting funding.

Different Cities, Similar Challenges

Regardless of the size of the city or municipality we come from, the challenges we face are often remarkably similar. How can we reduce energy consumption across a large number of public buildings? How can we plan and finance their energy renovation? How can we improve energy monitoring and management? How can we bring energy-efficiency measures closer to citizens and businesses and encourage their adoption?

Of course, a large city such as Niš and smaller municipalities across the region do not have the same needs or resources. Yet these very differences add value to cooperation. Larger cities can share their experience in planning and implementing more complex projects, while smaller communities often demonstrate how certain solutions can be applied more simply, quickly, and with limited resources. This is where regional cooperation gains practical value.

A solution already implemented in one city can save another months of work. Effective energy management models, approaches to organizing citizen support programs, or experience in project preparation do not need to be reinvented every time. By sharing knowledge, we can more quickly identify what works and what does not.

The workshop provided an opportunity to hear concrete experiences from local governments, ranging from energy-efficiency measures in public buildings and smart-city solutions to support schemes for the energy renovation of residential buildings. Particularly valuable was the fact that discussions did not end with the presentation of good practices. Instead, we worked together on developing new local and regional project ideas.

From Sharing Experiences to Joint Projects

Cooperation among local governments should not end with the exchange of presentations and contact information. The next step must be working together on concrete projects.

Energy projects are becoming increasingly complex and require a combination of expertise, from energy and urban planning to financing, digitalization, and citizen engagement. As a result, even cities with more advanced professional capacities can benefit significantly from cooperation with other local governments, data and experience sharing, and the joint development of project ideas.

For major regional centers such as Niš, such cooperation also creates an opportunity to make the city’s expertise and experience available to other municipalities, while enabling Niš itself to adopt and adapt solutions that have already been tested elsewhere. In the field of energy transition, the size of a city matters, but it is not the decisive factor in determining the quality of an idea or the ability to learn from others.

This is why a significant portion of the workshop focused on how to sustain cooperation over the long term, through a network that would facilitate continuous knowledge exchange, expert support, stronger connections among local governments, and the development of project ideas.

Such a network could be particularly valuable if it translates cooperation into tangible results: joint project concepts, expert exchanges, access to best-practice examples, and easier connections with international partners and funding sources.

The Energy Transition Must Be Local, But Not Lonely

For a city the size of Niš, the energy transition involves managing a vast number of buildings, users, and systems. This means that even relatively small savings, when applied across an entire city, can have a significant impact. More energy-efficient schools, kindergartens, and public buildings, modernized street lighting, and better energy management result not only in lower costs but also in higher-quality services and better living conditions for citizens.

However, the energy transition must also be fair and accessible to everyone. This means our efforts must focus on reducing energy poverty and ensuring that socially vulnerable citizens are fully included in subsidy programs aimed at improving the energy performance of their homes. Continuous public education and awareness-raising about energy efficiency and environmental protection are equally important. Only if the benefits of the energy transition reach those who need support the most can we speak of a truly just transition.

At the same time, large cities have the potential to drive change beyond their administrative boundaries. As regional centers, they can bring together experts, institutions, businesses, and neighboring local governments, helping successful solutions spread to a wider range of communities.

This is why I believe one of the Western Balkans' greatest opportunities lies in our ability to learn from one another. Our local governments belong to different countries and vary in size, capacity, and institutional frameworks, but they share many of the same challenges and they can share solutions as well.

The energy transition will be measured in megawatts, emission reductions, and investment figures. Yet its success will ultimately be visible in cities and municipalities: in lower energy bills, renovated schools and kindergartens, more energy-efficient homes, especially for those citizens who need support the most, more efficient public lighting, and better public services.

If our challenges are similar, there is no reason for each of us to search for solutions alone.

*This designation does not prejudge views on status and is in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99 and the opinion of the International Court of Justice on the declaration of Kosovo's independence.