In-depth

The women leading the fight against climate change in Kosovo

Facing the impacts of climate change in Kosovo, several women have taken the lead in the battle for a more sustainable future and a cleaner environment. Through their work in renewable energy, nature conservation, and reforestation of hills and fields, these women are helping to change perceptions by demonstrating that everyone can make a significant difference. They have become inspiring examples, showcasing the power of dedication and innovation to halt environmental degradation and educate future generations.

The summer of 2024 will be remembered for consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Similarly, the summer of 2023 was noted for its heat, but the memory lasted only a year. Year after year, summers are becoming hotter, drier, and more dangerous for people. Although citizens, some with the help of the Government of Kosovo, have installed air conditioners in their homes, parts of the ecosystem, such as flora and fauna, remain at the mercy of the climate.

However, the source of the electricity we use to cool our indoor environments is one of the main contributors to these changes. These very changes are also making winters not as cold and snowy as before; at best, they are just cold and without snow.

Kosovo is one of the most fossil fuel-dependent economies, and the transition to renewable energy sources is slow, as, according to data from the Energy Regulatory Office, most of the energy still comes from coal. This situation makes it imperative for all sectors of society to engage strongly to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources and to protect ecosystems threatened by unplanned and harmful development.

In this context, some Kosovar women are leading a sometimes silent and often challenging revolution in efforts to reduce the impact of climate change. Their steps are as innovative in their work as they are bold for a greener and more sustainable future. Through initiatives ranging from the installation of solar energy, environmental protection, and reforestation of hills and fields, these women are helping to change perceptions by showing that everyone can make a significant difference.

One of these women is Gentiana Alija Shala, who has decided to challenge industry norms and lead a company that designs and installs solar panels in a sector still largely dominated by men. She is helping Kosovo develop renewable energy sources and contributing to achieving pollution reduction goals.

Similarly, Egzona Shala-Kadiu, leader of the non-governmental organization “Eco Z,” is engaged in protecting Kosovo’s ecosystems and national parks, questioning capital investments that have negative environmental effects.

On the other hand, Indira Kallatozi has built a strong career in reforestation, using innovative technologies like drones to disperse seed balls to restore forests that have been damaged over the years. She leads the organization “Sustainability Leadership Kosova,” which engages youth and businesses for a cleaner and more sustainable future.

Women Are Leading Effective Environmental Campaigns

On July 25, 2023, when the thermometer read 45 degrees Celsius, Egzona Shala-Kadiu found herself amidst a concerned crowd in Klinë, surrounded by residents fighting to protect their homes and community from a cement factory that would pollute daily with noise and pose risks to water sources. Among many others speaking in scientific terms, Egzona decided to speak in a language they understood and felt.

“Why should someone from an office take my home? If they want, let them take the factory and bring it to their own home and see if it’s good for them in that aspect. And after all, what does Germany have more than Klinë?” she addressed a large group of citizens, who were actually mostly from diaspora.

Egzona, who now leads the environmental organization Eco-Z, describes that moment as one of the most important in her career as an activist. But this was not the first time she had fought to protect nature and community rights. Her path to activism began much earlier, built upon a deep connection with the environment that started in childhood. She humorously recalls that her mother was pregnant with her during biology studies, joking that perhaps she learned about ecology before she was born.

Photo: Egzona Shala-Kadiu

In the early years of Eco-Z, the challenges were endless. It was a time when the word “environment” sparked little interest, and “climate change” sounded like a distant term to most. Donors did not have it as an objective in their calls, but environmental topics were included in projects on culture and youth, or even in those on preventing extremism and radicalism, trying to find a link everywhere.

Comparing 2016 to today, Egzona sees a significant change in the perception of climate change topics. She was at the forefront of many environmental protection campaigns that targeted businesses.

“And this is the worst because you are against an investor. In Kosovo’s development, investors were seen as money for people, and nature was the last thing on their minds. However, when people are affected, the situation changes,” she recounts her connection with the community.

A lesson that greatly helped Egzona was the importance of a direct and sincere approach in communication. A training in Japan by JICA taught her that the best way to gain the community’s trust was to speak from the heart, listen attentively to their concerns, and offer achievable solutions. This strategy helped Eco-Z build a strong reputation on the ground, becoming the main voice against pollution and environmental abuses.

One of Eco-Z’s biggest battles has been against the construction of hydropower plants in protected areas. The fact that they are declared national parks means that nothing should be built, let alone hydropower plants. “Sharr National Park, NO DAMS” was written on a mountainside in Brezovica where Eco-Z had laid out letters to alarm that the national park was being affected by watercourse abuse there, but during that time they received big news.

“Advocacy is very unpredictable. You never know when a development you are advocating for will come. While we were laying out the letters in Brezovica, we received the news that the approval for hydropower plants was canceled,” she says, laughing, but insists that hydropower plants are the worst thing that has happened to our country.

Egzona warns that the damage caused by these projects is irreparable and will have decades-long consequences such as floods and the destruction of ecosystems. Her activism has resulted in significant victories, such as the cancellation of permits in some areas, but she knows the fight is not over. Recently, she and her collaborators have filed a complaint with the Energy Community in Vienna against four hydropower plants in the “Sharr” National Park. Kosovo has been part of this Community since 2005, while organizations have requested an investigation into the construction and operation of these hydropower plants.

The whole world knows Greta Thunberg, the Swedish girl who became synonymous with the fight to stop activities that contribute to climate change. She mobilized a significant part of the world. Bringing it into the context of Kosovo, Egzona says that women are the main pillar in this fight, not only in educating younger generations but also in the determination they show on the ground.

“The community has a certain belief that you can work more effectively with women. I can say that if a woman leads a campaign, the fieldwork is more successful,” she says, explaining that whenever she goes out to meet the community, she wears boots and field clothing. “Because they want to see you as one of them, not as someone coming to give pointless lectures.”

Drone Reforestation: A Dream Achieved Through Hard Work

Indira Kartallozi—a name that many people in Kosovo may not yet know—is an unstoppable force in efforts to combat climate change and regenerate nature in her homeland. Despite spending over three decades in England, she decided to return and contribute to a cause close to her heart and childhood: preserving nature and creating a sustainable future for Kosovo.

Indira grew up in Kapeshnicë, a beautiful neighborhood of Peja, where nature was an inseparable part of her life. With a smile, she recalls how, as a child, she and her brother would get lost in the mountains while following their neighbors’ goats.

Photo: Indira Kartallozi

“Our parents always taught us to respect nature, to leave it as we found it,” she adds. This early love for nature, even though at the time she did not have knowledge about climate change, has followed her throughout her life.

Her work in the field of human rights and her dedication to refugees and marginalized communities in England have helped her understand the strong connection between climate change and human migration.

“Climate change displaces more people than wars,” she says, recalling how she felt like a failure when she left Kosovo during the war.

However, returning home was always in the back of her mind. After several activities with young people in Peja, she founded the organization Sustainability Leadership Kosova (SLK) in 2018, embarking on a new journey to support youth and address climate challenges in Kosovo. Project by project, using a creative approach to activism, she and her team began working to combat deforestation.

“Between 2000 and 2022, Kosovo lost nearly 16,000 hectares of forests. With my team and attractive technology, we started a creative campaign against deforestation. We called it ‘Mos e Merr Malin’ (Don’t Take the Mountain), and now it is a platform that raises awareness and mobilizes communities,” she says, recalling a moment when she told her colleague Faruk Foniqi that at the end of the project, they would be reforesting using drones.

“Oh Indira, that’s a long way off for us,” Faruk had replied at the time. But today, together with Indira, they are preparing nearly 50,000 seed balls containing about 800,000 plant seeds, which they are dispersing by drone over deforested areas. Four years of relentless work on this project now give Indira an indescribable sense of fulfillment, as the journey has been challenging.

She faced many obstacles, especially the initial skepticism of some people in Kosovo. “I realized that I couldn’t come in with a Western mindset, but rather as a Kosovar who shares the same problems as them,” she says. However, the support she has received from young people has filled her with optimism.

“They are simply part of the solution, and that gives hope for the future. The reactions have been very positive. Personally, I have been excited every day. We have had calls and volunteers from everywhere, not just young people but even the private sector, which sent workers to join us,” she says. By now, traveling between London and Prishtina has become routine for her.

What is also becoming routine is the sense that there is a shift in mindset, with more people joining the fight to curb deforestation—a process that directly contributes to higher carbon emissions since, without forests, there is nothing to absorb the carbon.

The Only Woman Leading a Renewable Energy Company

The highest carbon emissions in Kosovo come from the power plants Kosova A and Kosova B. These plants could be replaced by energy production from renewable sources. In Kosovo, there are now many companies that design and implement such projects, but it remains a male-dominated industry. However, there is one exception: Gentiana Alija Shala, who stands as an inspiring example in Kosovo with her company Alfa Solar Energy. She has built a career that is more than just a personal achievement—it has made her a role model, with almost all young female engineers turning to her for internships at her company.

Photo: Gentiana Alija Shala

Gentiana never dreamed of becoming an engineer. Her goal was to study medicine, but an unexpected turn led her down a different path.

“I wasn’t accepted into the Medical University, and without much thought, I saw the Technical University while on my way back. I went in, checked which program had the most available spots, and applied for industrial electro-energy. It was a random choice, but it became the beginning of a journey I had never imagined,” she says.

Despite the initial challenges and her lack of preparation in mathematics and physics, she didn’t give up.

“My father told me I didn’t know math and physics, but I told him I would learn. He arranged for me to take private lessons, and I managed to get accepted,” she recalls.

Her dedication to renewable energy emerged just as spontaneously as her choice of studies. A casual conversation with a colleague inspired her to explore the potential of solar energy.

“Kosovo has an extraordinary potential for renewable energy. We have no other option—this is the future. Just look at the air quality we have in winter,” says Alija-Shala.

After graduating, she started an internship at a local company. Later, her growing ambitions pushed her to establish her own company, together with a former employer from another industry.

“I had worked in the IT industry. I called my former boss and said, ‘You have the money, I know what to do—let’s start this.’” And that’s how everything began in 2020.

“I have always wanted to be part of a greater change. When you face climate change, you don’t have the luxury of waiting,” she says.

Through her projects, Gentiana helps reduce pollution and promote sustainable energy sources. Her company initially started with small projects in the agricultural sector. Step by step, with her unstoppable character and never being satisfied with what she had already achieved, she expanded into the international market.

“I went on LinkedIn and messaged all the CEOs of energy companies in Germany. I got three responses, and I still work with all three of those companies across Europe,” she says, chuckling, adding that being a woman has never held her back. She even notes that the renewable energy industry welcomed her warmly.

“In Kosovo, the support has been extraordinary. I’ve had colleagues who have always helped me whenever I needed it,” she says, often finding herself serving as an inspiration for other women who want to follow this path. Her professionalism transcends borders—Gentiana was selected as one of the 100 most successful women in the world in renewable energy in 2024.

In facing the climate crisis, Gentiana believes that women’s determination and vision have the power to drive meaningful change.

“I believe women have incredible potential to lead positive change in every sector. I want to see more women in this industry because renewable energy isn’t just about technology—it’s about our future,” she concludes.

Although her projects in Kosovo are not as large-scale as those abroad, she doesn’t hide her desire for Kosovo to open its doors even more to major projects as a solution to move away from carbon-based energy.

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This article is supported by the German government and implemented through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as part of the International Forum on Women, Peace, and Security 2024 – “Civil Society Support Scheme (CSS),” organized by the Office of the President of the Republic of Kosovo. The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of GIZ or the Office of the President of the Republic of Kosovo.