The concept of green economy and social inclusion in sustainable development of the Western Balkan countries

Brajković Mileta (Fakultet za ekonomiju i biznis, Univerzitet Mediteran, Podgorica), brajkovicmileta@gmail.com
Nešković Slobodan (Fakultet za evropske pravno-političke studije, Univerzitet Privredna Akademija u Novom Sadu), slobneskovic@gmail.com

The green economy is a postmodern concept of the comprehensive inclusion of the environment in sustainable development projects. It emerges as a new paradigm for improving economic growth while simultaneously reducing the consumption of natural resources and preventing the devastation of ecosystems. Economic prosperity has corresponding social connotations embodied in the improvement of the health of the population, social justice, employment, and protection of the living environment. It is of particular importance for the Western Balkan countries, which are poor but have enormous potential for the green economy implementation, sustainable development goals, and ecological entrepreneurship. The current undertaking is based on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, aligned with the European Green Deal. It includes five primary areas: decarbonisation, circular economy, pollution reduction, sustainable agriculture, and biodiversity. The paper aims to present possible modalities in a balance between economic progress and social inclusion in the context of environmental protection. The aforementioned segments affect economic, political, and social stability. The research results point to new directions for achieving social prosperity with a greater number of possible solutions for overcoming controversies, where meaningful and competent engagement of state institutions is required. The importance of the current consideration is reflected in the necessity of designing a long-term sustainable development strategy on the platform of the green economy in the countries of the Western Balkans subregion, based on the EU Green Agenda.

Keywords: green economy, social inclusion, strategy, sustainable development, Green Agenda, Western Balkans, European Union