World Bank Group2014-09-092014-09-092014-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/20003Within the six countries of the Western Balkans, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, energy efficiency (EE) is increasingly seen as a key pillar in national energy strategies, helping to enhance energy security, contribute to economic growth, and ensure environmental sustainability. This is for several reasons. EE can reduce the region's heavy reliance on expensive imports, enhance competitiveness and job creation, and reduce the impact of widespread fossil fuel use. EE can also bring important social benefits, helping to improve local air quality (mitigating related adverse health impacts), improve indoor comfort levels through improved heating, and make energy more affordable for low-income families. Finally, EE is seen as a critical tool in helping to mitigate the effects of necessary and planned tariff reforms by offsetting the higher energy costs to the entire economy. To realize these benefits, the Western Balkans countries will have to shift from broad policies and small-scale pilots to scaled-up financing and implementation. There is an urgent need to develop viable financing models in all sectors, as well as suitable delivery mechanisms, information systems, and necessary secondary legislation, in order to meet national targets and fuel economic development in a more sustainable manner. Buildings, which account for almost half of energy use in the regions, have been identified as a key sector in all of the country EE plans.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESSIBILITYACCOUNTINGADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGESAFFORDABILITYAIR QUALITYAPPROACHAVAILABILITYBALANCEBANK FINANCINGBANK LENDINGBANK LOANBANK LOANSBOILERSBORROWERBORROWINGBORROWING CAPACITYBUDGET CONSTRAINTSBUDGETARY ALLOCATIONSBUDGETINGCAPACITY BUILDINGCARBON DIOXIDECASH FLOWCASH FLOWSCLEAN ENERGYCLIMATECLIMATE CHANGECOLLATERALCOMMERCIAL BANKCOMMERCIAL BANKSCOMMERCIAL LENDINGCOMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPSCONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONSCOOPERATIVESCOST OF ENERGYCREDIT ENHANCEMENTCREDIT GUARANTEECREDIT GUARANTEESCREDIT LINESCREDIT MARKETCREDIT MARKETSCREDIT PROGRAMSCREDIT SCHEMESCREDITWORTHINESSCUSTOMER SATISFACTIONDEBTDEBT CAPACITYDEMAND FOR ENERGYDEVELOPMENT BANKDIRECT FINANCINGDISCOUNT RATESDISTRICT HEATINGDISTRICT HEATING SYSTEMSDONOR FUNDSEARNINGSECONOMIC BENEFITSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIES OF SCALEEFFICIENCY GAINSEFFICIENT ENERGY USEEFFICIENT LIGHTINGELECTRICITYELECTRICITY CONSUMPTIONELECTRICITY SALESELIGIBILITY CRITERIAEMISSIONEMISSION REDUCTIONSEMISSIONSEMPLOYMENTENERGY AUDITENERGY BILLSENERGY CONSUMPTIONENERGY COST SAVINGSENERGY COSTSENERGY DEMANDENERGY EFFICIENCYENERGY EFFICIENCY FINANCEENERGY EFFICIENCY INVESTMENTSENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURESENERGY EXPENDITUREENERGY EXPENDITURESENERGY INTENSITYENERGY MANAGEMENTENERGY POLICYENERGY PRICESENERGY PRICINGENERGY RESOURCESENERGY RETROFITENERGY SAVINGSENERGY SECURITYENERGY SOURCESENERGY STRATEGIESENERGY SUBSIDIESENERGY SUPPLYENERGY USEENFORCEMENT MECHANISMSENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCEENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITYEQUIPMENTESPEXCLUSIONEXPENDITURESFINANCIAL INCENTIVESFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL PRODUCTFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITYFOSSILFOSSIL FUELFOSSIL FUEL USEFUEL COSTSFUNDING SOURCESGENERATIONGOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONSGREENHOUSE GASESHEATHEAT METERINGHEAT METERSHEAT PUMPSHEATING SYSTEMSHEAVY RELIANCEHIGH INTEREST RATESHOME OWNERHOMEOWNERHOMEOWNERSHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLDSHYDROCARBONSIMPORTSIMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCYINCOME HOUSEHOLDSINFORMATION SYSTEMSINSURANCEINSURANCE COMPANYINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINVESTMENT CAPITALINVESTMENT FINANCINGINVESTMENT PROPOSALSINVESTMENTS IN ENERGYINVESTMENTS IN ENERGY EFFICIENCYJOB CREATIONJOBSKILOWATT-HOURLENDERLOANLOAN DEFAULTSLOAN GUARANTEESLOAN TERMSLOCAL CAPACITYLOCAL MARKETLOCAL MARKETSLOW-INCOME FAMILIESMARKET BARRIERSMARKET CONDITIONSMARKET DEVELOPMENTMARKET DISTORTIONSMARKET FAILURESMATURITYMUNICIPAL BONDSMUNICIPAL CREDITMUNICIPAL INVESTMENTNATURAL GASOILOIL EQUIVALENTOPERATING COSTSOUTREACHPARTIAL CREDITPARTNER BANKSPENALTIESPENETRATION RATESPER CAPITA CONSUMPTIONPIPELINEPOLLUTIONPORTFOLIOPRESENT VALUEPRIVATE FUNDSPRIVATIZATIONSPUBLIC BUDGETPUBLIC BUDGETSPUBLIC CREDITPUBLIC FACILITIESPUBLIC FUNDSPUBLIC SPENDINGPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSREBATESREGULATORY FRAMEWORKRENEWABLE ENERGYRENEWABLE RESOURCESRENEWABLE SOURCESREPAYMENTREPAYMENTSRESIDENTIAL BUILDINGRESIDENTIAL BUILDINGSRESIDENTIAL CONSUMERSRESIDENTIAL SECTORSREVOLVING FUNDREVOLVING FUNDSREVOLVING LOANSRISK AVERSIONRISK PERCEPTIONSALES REVENUESSELF-FINANCINGSOFT LOANSSOLAR PANELSSPECIAL CREDITSPECIAL CREDIT LINESSTOCKSSUSTAINABLE ENERGYTAXTAX INCENTIVESTAX REVENUESTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSTRANSPARENCYUNEMPLOYMENTUNIONUTILITIESUTILITY BILLSUTILITY DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENTUTILITY PAYMENTSWOOD BIOMASS10.1596/20003