Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Local Sustainable Development in the Western Balkans

The first Steering Committee’s Meeting of the Project “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Local Sustainable Development in the Western Balkans” was held on 18 May 2009 in Belgrade, Serbia. The project will be implemented by European Centre for Nature Conservation in cooperation with Regional Environmental Center and its offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo. NALAS was represented at this meeting by Ms Sanja Zivkovic.

First UNECE Workshop on Energy Efficiency in Housing, 21-22 April 2009 in Sofia

The First Workshop on Energy Efficiency in Housing was organized to review and discuss challenges and opportunities for the ECE region in order to identify necessary policy measures, as well as to provide UNECE member States with policy guidance and suggestions on how to increase energy efficiency in the housing sector. The Workshop reviewed the economic, social and environmental impacts of energy efficiency in housing, considered current policies, solutions and barriers to effective policies, and discussed priorities that need to be addressed by international and national governments. NALAS was represented at this workshop by Mr Petar Gvero, member of the NALAS Task Force on Energy Efficiency.

Meeting of the NALAS Task Force on Energy Efficiency in Budva, 18-21 March 2009

In March 2009, a very important conference took place in Budva, which gathered over 300 participants from the region to discuss energy. The "Regional Energy Security and Energy Efficiency" conference was organized by the Ministry for Economic Development of Montenegro and the German Development Cooperation - GTZ and gathered governmental representatives, various energy agencies, NGOs and companies to talk about the energy challenges in the region. This gathering of the Task Force was also used to continue the development of the Energy Efficiency project idea, now with concrete actions and partners.

Leading EU research institutes launch the European Energy Research Alliance

Leading European energy research institutes have joined together to found the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), with the aim of speeding up the development of the new energy technologies that Europe needs if it is to address the triple challenge of climate change, energy security and competitiveness. Between them, the 10 institutes have an annual budget for energy research and development (R&D) activities of over EUR 1,300 million. Through the EERA, the institutes will design and implement joint, pan-European research programmes and promote the sharing of world-class national research facilities. The first joint programmes are scheduled for launch in 2009.

Google writes about Energy Efficiency

With the days getting shorter and the temperature dropping, it's the perfect season to talk about energy efficiency. And quite fittingly, many of the energy-wasters in the homes are named after the ghouls of Halloween. Living rooms are infested with "vampire" electronics that suck power even when turned off; open chimney flues let the "ghosts" of winter steal our heat; and quite often there's a "monster" furnace lurking in the basement. By taking small steps to drive out the goblins of inefficiency, you can save money and ward off carbon emissions. So Google created a handy energy saving calculator and a list of tricks to help you do just that.

Living Free and Easy

Hundreds of homeowners in California never worry about paying their electric bills on time. It's not because they are careless; it's because they live in new "zero-energy" homes that produce as much electricity as they consume. Zero-energy homes reduce energy demand by up to 70 percent using the latest energy-efficiency technologies, and generate all the electricity they need from photovoltaic solar panels. The term zero-energy home was coined by the Department of Energy (USA) as part of a program to create technologies for homes that would produce all of their own energy by 2010.    

Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency

The Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency (MUNEE) is a program in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States since 2001.MUNEE targets city officials, utilities and housing associations, as well as national level policy makers, compiling and disseminating energy efficiency information in local languages. The program has helped municipalities in 17 countries implement cost effective energy-efficiency measures that provide better heating in homes, schools, hospitals and municipal buildings, and that improve efficiency of municipal water supply systems.  

Electricity calculator

The electricity calculator is a tool published by BBC (UK) which gives an opportunity to choose how you would like the UK’s electricity to be generated in 2020. The calculator works out the possible impact in terms of carbon emissions, whether you managed to keep the lights on and how it will affect people’s annual bills.