The European Commission opened the “Western Balkans Energy Transition Office” in Brussels earlier this month.
The goal is to help the countries of the region in the process of abandoning energy production from dirty sources, RTS writes.
Support is necessary because jobs, in the fight for cleaner energy, air and water – are neither easy nor cheap, and they are conditioned by political decisions. What awaits Serbia on the transitional energy path?
The European Union has made progress in the energy transition – most members will phase out coal by the end of the next decade, and the plan is for the Union to completely complete the process of decarbonisation in 2050, ie reducing emissions of harmful gases that threaten the climate.
Serbia has agreed with the countries of the Western Balkans to follow that plan, and the Brussels office for energy transition has opened the door of support for that.
Tim McPhee, the EU’s spokesman for energy and climate action, says it is an important project, related to the European Green Treaty, which is a priority.
“Within the EU, we are working on phasing out coal and supporting areas that have coal mines, switching to cleaner energy sources, finding appropriate programs and using funds from the European Union and international financial institutions, and adopting a strategy for the transition period,” McFae said.
Analyzes indicate that sixteen coal-fired power plants in the Western Balkans emit as much as 20 times more sulfur dioxide than the Union average.
“Large investments in renewable sources are forthcoming”.
Serbia also received two thirds of the electricity by burning lignite. The Government says that large investments in renewable sources, gas and improved energy efficiency are forthcoming.
Changes in energy are inevitable, but they must, they say, be gradual while preserving the country’s energy security.
Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic says that climate and energy are not related to one country, but to the entire region.
“And that is why Serbia will be very active there. So, we have already tried to establish a certain communication with that Office, and we really care to see what the experiences are like, what it will look like in the next period,” Mihajlovic noted.
In this process, the activities of local self-governments are important.
A good example is Nis, where the planning of the energy transition includes citizens and the establishment of energy cooperatives that will build solar panels. The heating plant is being modernized, and help is also being announced for households.
Bojan Gajic, the city energy manager of Nis, announces that in the next few months a program will be launched to co-finance the replacement of old boilers and stoves of citizens who use firewood and coal, or to connect individual facilities to the district heating system.
There are another 66 oil and coal boiler rooms in Serbia, and work is already underway to shut them down and switch to cleaner fuels. However, the fact that almost half of Serbian households still heat with wood and coal is worrying, B92 reports.
