Accurate and complete environmental information is at the basis of any effective sustainable development policy. This report summarises for the first time the status of air, climate, water and soil in the Western Balkans (WB), describing current knowledge as of 2021 and gaps with respect to the EU aquis in order to: a) benchmark the progress during the accession process, and b) support the implementation of the Green Agenda for the WB with particular reference to depollution and decarbonisation priorities. This information is also relevant for the EU Green Deal zero pollution ambition, as depollution in WB also reduces pollutant levels in neighbouring EU Member States. Despite significant improvements in the alignment of the climate and GHG emissions monitoring and reporting legislation and the good progress in the areas of air and water pollution in the latest two years, the EU aquis implementation is still lagging. The overall WB air quality situation is still critical and the pollution trend is often upwards, despite PM10 and PM2.5 concentration have decreased in certain areas. Due to its dominant impact on mortality, PM2.5 can be considered the main pollutant to target in the WB. The energy sector, in particular coal-fuelled power plants, is the major source of SO2 and CO2 emissions and an important source of other pollutants. It offers a concrete opportunity for co-benefits between air quality and climate policies. The increase in intensity and frequency of summer heatwaves in the latest decades is an indicator of climate change in the WB and the need to design appropriate adaptation plans to cope with it. The status of waterbodies in the WB can generally be assessed as unsatisfactory. In the case of chemical status, 45% of waterbodies assessed failed to reach good status, while in the ecological assessment 54% failed to reach good status. Case studies on antibiotic resistance, as well as effect-based studies on mixtures of pollutants confirmed that aquatic ecosystems, particularly large fluvial rivers, are under considerable anthropogenic pressure. Soil degradation is prevalent and extensive throughout the WB region. Soil erosion is the most relevant degradation process followed by soil pollution. Unsustainable land management practices and natural causes of soil degradation in the region are interlinked. In order to make progress in the implementation of the environmental legislation it is necessary to improve the integration of the environmental measures into key sectorial policies (e.g. energy production, energy efficiency, industry, transport). This principle is reflected in the Green Agenda for the WB and the new EU Soil Strategy. Due to the relatively small area of the WB and the interconnections between ecosystems across and beyond the region, strengthening regional and international cooperation is essential to involve all the relevant actors and stakeholders in the design and implementation of environmental policies.

The EDGAR INGOS CH4 and N2O emission inventory provides bottom-up estimates of global anthropogenic CH4 and N2O emissions for the period 2000-2010. The EDGAR InGOS product is an update of the EDGARv4.2FT2010 inventory, taking into account emissions reported as point sources by facilities under the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) for (1) power plants (N2O), (2) oil refineries (CH4 and N2O), (3) coal mining (CH4), (4) production of oil and gas (CH4), (5) chemicals production (inorganic, nitro-fertilizers and other bulk chemicals) (N2O), industrial process and product use (N2O), (6) solid waste - landfills (CH4), (7) industrial wastewater treatment (CH4 and N2O). In a first step gridmaps have been improved for the European region taking into account the geospatial data of the E-PRTR database. In addition, for the last 4 years an option is given to select inventories solely based on officially reported emission data (for the categories covered by E-PRTR), gapfilled with EDGARv4.2FT2010 for non-reporting countries.

Cities and local authorities are key players in addressing climate change. The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM) has been the first initiative of its kind addressing local authorities to endorse their efforts in the implementation of sustainable energy and climate policies and to provide them with a harmonised data compilation, methodological and reporting framework, supporting them in translating mitigation and adaptation goals into reality. This report provides a scientific assessment of CoM regarding the pillars of mitigation and adaptation of climate change. The assessment describes the plans submitted by signatories, examines planned and implemented policies and gives an overview on the progresses in terms of energy consumption, GHG emission reduction and resilience increase. The key findings show that the overall commitment to reducing GHG emissions by signatories is 30% by 2020 and 47% by 2030, compared to baseline emissions projected to 2005. These commitments are more ambitious than the minimum requested targets. The adaptation pillar shows a recent reporting framework, therefore, further analysis in the future is needed once the number of signatories increases. The hazards reported the most in EU cities are extreme heat and droughts while the sectors at risk of impacts are reported to be water and health. Nevertheless, a clear gap exists between the hazards impacting specific sectors and sectors where actions are planned and implemented. A further development of the structure of the adaptation pillar and reporting system in place may support in bridging this gap.