Green Rural Deal

Municipalities in Europe’s rural regions face different challenges than urban regions with regards to the sustainability transformation: The shrinking and ageing of their population, a shortage of skilled workers and, simultaneously, a high level of unemployment. In these situations, the trade-off between creating jobs and saving the climate seems all too real. Green Rural Deal supports rural municipalities in building up their transformative capacities and developing suitable solutions for a zero-carbon economy.

A successful sustainability strategy requires reliable data. Therefore, the project supported local stakeholders in Western Macedonia (Greece), Kamenica (Kosovo) and Priboj (Serbia) in gathering and assessing key socio-economic data relevant for a transition to a zero-carbon economy.  

As a next step, the project invited the same local and regional stakeholders to co-create project ideas and concepts in a series of events and formats, including one study trip to a rural region in Germany. Furthermore, the partners develop tools and instruments which to align regional economic development strategies with climate targets. Based on learnings from the three target regions, the project develops recommendations for other rural regions in similar processes. Finally, the partners develop policy briefings in order to raise awareness for rural regions among higher levels of government. 

A toolkit developed within the project assesses the impact of planned investments and transformative projects on the transition of an area (region/municipality) to a sustainable growth model. Another policy assessment toolkit supports the development of inclusive green growth policies anchored in the overall rural development objectives. It takes into account the core principles of green growth, such as inclusiveness, social impact, transparency and sustainability. 

Based on the lessons learned in the three target regions, the project drafted policy recommendations on instruments and mechanisms for the transformation to a green economy in rural regions.  The policy brief provides national, regional and local authorities with information and advice to support the design of decarbonisation policies to implement structural change solutions at local and regional level. 

• A decarbonisation strategy for Priboj: In Priboj, Serbia, a decarbonisation strategy was developed in collaboration with stakeholders from the administration, education, culture, business and civil society. The local community was also involved in the development of the strategy through an online process. The strategy envisages the decarbonisation of the public heating system – a direct contribution to reducing emissions.  
• Sharing experience: The RES Foundation recognised the strategy’s transformative potential and documented the experiences in a handbook that is used by municipalities throughout the Western Balkans.  
• More sustainability in urban development: The project has promoted an understanding throughout the region that sustainable urban development is a shared responsibility. Priboj's success story serves as a waymarker here.   
• A tool for assessing sustainability: As part of the project, two online tools were developed, which are already supporting 15 municipalities, four chambers of commerce, a development agency and a university committee in assessing sustainable projects. The first tool evaluates investments in sustainable growth, while the second supports policy-making for green and inclusive economies. This enables public and private sector stakeholders to systematically review sustainable investments and align decisions more closely with climate and development goals.  
• Policy recommendations published: Based on the project results, a joint policy letter was drafted containing recommendations for national, regional and local authorities. It brings together best practices, tools and strategies for promoting decarbonisation in rural regions. It was widely distributed via partner networks and online channels and reached numerous municipalities in the Western Balkan countries. This enables policy-makers to use practical and proven approaches to support climate-friendly structural change processes and incorporate them into their planning.