About RENEUER
As part of an effort to foster cooperation between countries in the Balkan region, and to build local capacity, the Alliance to Save Energy and EnEffect, its Bulgarian partner, have launched a program to promote energy and water management in Southeast Europe in 1999. The program is called the Regional Network for the Efficient Use of Energy and Water Resources (RENEUER). RENEUER consists of representatives from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro. The goal is for municipal leaders from each country to develop the capacity to implement energy and water saving strategies - a bottom-up approach.
The necessity for RENEUER emerged from the fact that Southeast European countries have a limited supply of energy and water resources. All countries in the region import energy resources to meet domestic energy demand. In addition, energy consumption per unit of GDP is among the highest in Europe. This consumption rate is not the result of high economic activity and high living standards, but rather the consequence of low efficiency of fuel and energy use.
Countries in the region also suffer from water shortage, and vis-?-vis the ascending drought in the Mediterranean region, this shortage could grow into a major obstacle to the region's social and economic development. The water consumption rate in the region also ranks among the highest in Europe. Once again, the reasons are not related to economic activity or to living standards, but rather to the tremendous losses within the water supply systems, inadequate water recycling, and low end-use efficiency.
But since the launch of RENEUER, the strategy of the Network has shifted as a result of the process of European integration and further democratization in the region. Therefore, there is an increasing need for closer association of RENEUER’s strategy to the policies of the European Union. As the role of civil society becomes more prominent within the countries of the network, energy strategy coordination and planning will become more efficient. RENEUER role in the future is crucial for proper integration of the countries of Southeast Europe into the internal European energy market. RENEUER’s energy efficiency leadership will also be important as the countries within the network face UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol commitments.
At present, per the suggestion of the Steering Committee of the Energy Efficiency 21 Project, RENEUER should concentrate its efforts on capacity building, which in turn would allow a wider involvement of actors (local authorities, NGOs) leading to a more effective implementation of policies in the energy efficiency sphere.
Further success of the Network of countries will depend on the international political and financial support, the support of UNECE, and the European Commission.