Macedonia is a relatively small, landlocked country in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula in Southern Europe. In 2016, the country reached a population of 2.08 million and GDP of US$10.4 billion. As an upper middle-income country, Macedonia has made great strides in reforming its economy over the last decade. The ambitious reform agenda outlined in the Government Program 2017–2020 focuses on economic growth, job creation, fair taxation, support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and reform of social protection for the most vulnerable. Growth slowed to 2.4% in 2016 and turned negative in the first half of 2017, as political uncertainty affected investment. It is expected to recover to 1.5% by the end of the year, supported by consumption and growing investor confidence after the new Government took office in June 2017.

The process for determining the Macedonian Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) was led by the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (MOEPP), as the national institution responsible for climate change policies and national contact point for UNFCCC. It ratified Paris Agreement in Feb 2018. The country aims to reduce CO² emissions from fossil fuels combustion by 30% and 36% at a higher level of ambition, compared to the business as usual (BAU) scenario by 2030. An analysis of impacts, vulnerability and adaptive capacity was undertaken across eight sectors of agriculture and livestock, biodiversity, forests, human health, tourism, cultural heritage water resources and economic development, with a special focus on Southeast region – identified as being particularly vulnerable to climate change.