8 March 2012: The Macedonian Green Growth and Climate Change Analytic and Advisory Program of the World Bank has announced the winners of an essay competition on the integration of sustainability and green growth considerations into the economic growth and competitiveness agenda of Macedonia.

The competition aimed to raise awareness among the young generation on green growth and climate change issues. Participants were invited to give their views on one of the following six themes: greening the future of Macedonian economy; supporting inclusive growth throughout Macedonia; Macedonia on its way to the EU; will EU membership make Macedonia greener and more prosperous; Macedonia is already experiencing climate change; short-term benefits vs. long-term goals; and green Skopje.

The World Bank Office received over 150 essays on the different subjects related to the Green Growth agenda. The three winners were announced by the Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Pesevski and received 15.000 MKD, 10.000 MKD and 5.000 MKD, respectively. The three winning essays, in addition to eight that were selected by the committee, touch upon, inter alia: greening the future of Macedonian economy; energy efficiency; and climate change impacts in Macedonia. [World Bank Press Release] [Essay Competition Announcement]