Western Balkan Countries in Green Transition: Assessment of Results and Challenges

Abstract

The main policies to promote economic development are targeting green growth, which means economic growth by ensuring that natural assets con-tinue to provide the resources and environmental services on which the well-being of people depends. The paper analyzes the green growth results of 5 Western Balkan countries: Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. These countries share the same geo-graphical location and past; however, since the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1992, they have experienced different development paths, and some, like Montenegro and Serbia, are quite advanced candidates for membership in the European Union. The paper aims to compare their green growth trends, define the most advanced and lagging countries in terms of the main indi-cators of green growth, and develop policy recommendations to foster green growth in this region. MCDM tool was applied for ranking of 5 Western Bal-kan countries in terms of green growth.