Kosovo Environmental law from an International Environmental law perspective

The objectives of the Kosovo environmental policy are: preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment; protecting human health; ensuring the prudent and rational utilization of natural resources; and promoting measures at international level and in particular combating climate change. Kosovo has new environmental legislation, created mainly during the last decade. This legislation is generally focused on alignment with EU standards because it relies on the same principles as European environmental. The years 2004 – 2016, were years of drafting, redrafting and approving of environmental laws, among which the Law on Environmental protection, air protection, nature protection, environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental impact assessment and drafting of sectorial strategies such as the Kosovo environmental strategy, drafting of the strategy and for air quality. General environmental priorities for the next years were identified as: Completion of environmental legislation and harmonization with the EU acquis, effective implementation of existing legislation, ect. Kosovo needs to take steps towards establishing climate policies, in particular with the EU climate change acquis