CEF Participates at the OECD Energy Reform Summit
The CEF team proudly joined regional leaders at the OECD high-level event “Energy Prices and Subsidies in the Western Balkans: Reforms for a Fair and Green Future” in Paris. The event brought together policymakers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia to present ongoing efforts to reform energy sectors in line with climate and fiscal goals. While the newly released OECD report underscored the fiscal and environmental risks of continued fossil fuel subsidies, country representatives shared their strategies to promote energy affordability, renewables, and just transition roadmaps.
Representing the CEF, Deputy Director Ivana Nedižavec Korada emphasized that the green transition must be not only technologically and fiscally sound, but also socially inclusive. In her address, she introduced the Greening Human Capital of Public Institutions of the Western Balkans project, implemented by the CEF and supported by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy of Slovenia and the Climate Change Fund. She highlighted the pressing need for climate-literate public officials and better cross-sector collaboration, drawing on findings from the 2024 regional green skills assessment.
She also emphasized the need for a stronger investment in people as the cornerstone of a fair green transition, urging governments to recognize human capital as a strategic asset. “It is essential to develop green competencies among civil servants—in climate policy, sustainable finance, communication, and leadership,” she noted. “Only then can public institutions effectively lead and sustain the complex reforms required across the energy sector and beyond.”
Through its active participation in this high-level dialogue, the CEF reaffirmed its commitment to helping Western Balkans build institutional capacity for green reform. The Greening Human Capital initiative is a vital component of this effort.