United for Climate Brings Regional and EU Experts Together to Advance Climate-Resilient Urban Mobility

The event opened with contributions from key regional and European voices helping to shape this agenda. Iven Schad, from German Embassy in Tirana, representing the Regional Climate Partnership between Germany and the Western Balkans, highlighted the importance of translating climate ambition into practical cooperation, reforms and investment. He underscored Germany’s long-term commitment to supporting the region’s green and resilient transformation through its only regional partnership that connect policy ambition with implementation on the ground.

Matej Zakonjšek, Director of Transport Community Permanent Secretariat, emphasised the central role of transport connectivity and policy alignment with European standards, noting that resilient and sustainable mobility systems are becoming a core pillar of the region’s competitiveness, environmental resilience and European integration. Resilience must be a systemic part of sustainable mobility projects. 

From the perspective of local governance, Kelmend Zajazi, Executive director of NALAS, pointed to the growing role of municipalities and their associations in shaping practical climate responses, while Lidija Pavić-Rogošić, director of ODRAZ, stressed that successful transition depends on urban development models that are inclusive, citizen-centred and grounded in practical local solutions. Alexander Erlewein, WB Adapt Project Manager from GIZ, reinforced the need for regional cooperation mechanisms that can accelerate implementation and scale tested approaches.

A keynote intervention by Nedim Begović of Transport Community Permanent Secretariat focused on what European transport policy means in practice for Western Balkan cities and institutions. He outlined how the region can convert regulatory alignment into practical advantage, through smarter planning, coordinated investment and stronger institutional readiness.

One of the conference’s strongest messages was that the knowledge, methodologies, and tested approaches for climate-resilient and sustainable urban mobility already exist across the EU. This includes tools and frameworks developed under the framework of TEN-T regulation and related European transport policies. The key challenge for the WB6 region is therefore not starting from scratch but replicating and adapting proven models through continued support from donors and international financial institutions. Participants emphasized that the region should increasingly focus on scaling up implementation and “harvesting” existing knowledge, pilot experiences, and available funding opportunities in order to accelerate the transition toward more resilient and sustainable transport systems.

This was echoed in discussions led by Miodrag Kolić from NALAS, who highlighted that resilience must ultimately be built where citizens experience climate change directly, at local level, through practical urban interventions.

The European perspective on long-term transformation was further strengthened by Dr. Aljaž Plevnik, who shared lessons from successful European models such as Ljubljana and stressed the importance of National Sustainable Urban Mobility Support Programmes as enabling frameworks for real systemic change which is still to be achieved. Lidija Pavić-Rogošić also brought important reflections from the EU perspective on fairness, citizen participation and social inclusion, reminding participants that transition succeeds only when its benefits are broadly shared and socially just.

Concrete practice remained at the heart of the conference. Michael Engel from GIZ presented the Resilient Cities in Serbia (ReCi) initiative, showcasing integrated climate-resilient urban planning approaches. Luka Vidan from ODRAZ introduced the NetZeroCities portal as a practical tool for municipalities navigating decarbonisation pathways.

Regional pilots demonstrated that climate resilience is already being built on the ground. Džeraldina Miličević from Municipality of Zavidovići presented measures tackling urban heat islands through greening and resilient mobility planning in Zavidovići. From Municipality of Vlora, Orges Deraj shared strategies responding to coastal climate pressures and rising urban heat through a bus stop pilot project. Gent Sejdiu from Municipality of Pristina presented climate resilience transport studies developed for Pristina, Shkodra and Tirana, identifying vulnerabilities and opportunities for more resilient transport systems.

Further practical insights were shared by Amela Topuz-Bajraktarević from Ministry of Traffic of Canton Sarajevo, on Sarajevo’s urban traffic resilience assessment, Elton Stafa from NALAS on building stronger EU project pipelines, Goran Lampelj on long-term capacity building through the Academy for Sustainable Urban Mobility Climate Resilience,

A particularly forward-looking contribution came from Ivo Cré from POLIS Network, who underlined the growing importance of urban nodes, integrated Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), and climate-proof infrastructure designed to withstand natural hazards, operational disruptions and future climate extremes. He also stressed that resilience is not only about infrastructure strength, but about systems that are reflective, robust, flexible, resourceful, inclusive, redundant where necessary, and fully integrated across sectors. Importantly for the Western Balkans, he pointed to the region’s unique opportunity to position itself early within this new European framework, not merely aligning with policy, but using alignment as an advantage to build smarter, more connected and future-ready cities and transport corridors. 

On the third day of the event, participants discussed the Climate-Resilient Transport Infrastructure Study developed with the support of the WB Adapt project for Tirana, Pristina, and Shkodra.

The discussion began with introductory remarks by Susanne Kempf and continued with a presentation by Mila Pantelić, both representing the WB Adapt project, on the importance of addressing regional sustainable urban mobility and connectivity between cities, particularly in the context of TEN-T regulation, as well as the benefits that such a document can bring to citizens and local communities.

The discussion continued under the facilitation of Ana Zhibaj, bringing together engaged experts from EU Bridge and Tregerma, as well as representatives of ministries, municipalities and cities, NGOs, and independent experts. The exchange focused on the potential replication of this approach across the WB6 and the importance of integrating climate resilience into long-term urban mobility planning.

A similar study was also announced for the Canton Sarajevo, where the recommended measures will be integrated into the second generation of the Sarajevo SUMP document.

Alongside the conference, the Expert Working Group on Climate-Resilient Sustainable Urban Mobility within NALAS convened to continue shaping a stronger regional approach to sustainable urban mobility. Building on the momentum created during the October 2025 regional exchange in Zagreb, where the group was first established, members focused on how associations of municipalities and cities can help bridge local and national levels through more effective multilevel governance mechanisms for planning and implementing climate-resilient mobility solutions.

What emerged from Tirana was a clear practical regional direction: stronger multi-level governance, improved institutional coordination, and clearer policy frameworks. This includes National Sustainable Urban Mobility Support Programs to support effective, enabling implementation that reaches citizens through more sustainable, multimodal and green urban mobility solutions, from streets and neighbourhoods to wider urban networks.