March 2026 – November 2026
Activity goal: To strengthen the transformative capacity of ascending public goods agents in Serbia to advance a socially just and climate-resilient transformation at the local level by equipping them with intersectional, evidence-based tools for democratic energy governance.
Situation analysis: Serbia’s local self-governments operate within a structurally carbon-intensive energy system, marked by high dependence on fossil fuels, inefficient public infrastructure, and limited fiscal space. While energy crises, such as price shocks and supply instability, have exposed systemic vulnerabilities, responses remain reactive rather than strategic. Energy crises have exposed not only economic vulnerability, but structural inequalities embedded in the current energy model.
Energy policy debates in Serbia are often centralised and technocratic. At the local level, decision-makers lack integrated tools that connect energy consumption, public budgets, climate exposure, health impacts, and social vulnerability. Existing data is fragmented across institutions and rarely translated into decision-support formats that enable democratic accountability.
The initial version of the Atlas of Good Energy (2022) introduced a structured analytical overview of local energy systems. However, rising climate risks, the growing relevance of carbon pricing mechanisms, increasing fiscal pressure on municipalities, and new energy sector dynamics require methodological upgrading and expanded analytical depth.
At the same time, public debate on energy transition is polarised. Emerging political actors, students, and research journalists often lack accessible, structured, and comparative data to challenge narratives or propose alternatives. Youth engagement in energy governance remains limited, despite being directly affected by long-term climate and fiscal consequences.
Marginalised and vulnerable stakeholders include energy-poor households, low-income pensioners, residents of municipalities with weak institutional capacity and youth with limited capacity and limited access to policy-making spaces.
The Energy Atlas is structured through seven interconnected sectors/pillars, which together form a logical and narrative whole. Energy is the central axis of the Atlas, but its effects are not limited to the energy sector. Mentioned sectors are:
- General data
- Public sector energy and emissions
- Institutional preparedness
- Households and energy poverty
- Socioeconomic context
- Climate reality and the cost of inaction
- Infrastructure and mobility
The Energy Atlas: does not offer a one-size-fits-all solution, but helps to make priorities clear and informed, based on valid data and the overall context, not intuition.
Energy is not an isolated problem – it is a mirror of local development.
This project is supported by Heinrich Boell Stiftung.
