ROUND TABLES HELD ON THE SUBJECTS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND INCREASING THE VISIBILITY OF ENERGY AND CLIMATE POLICIES.

The Association for the Protection of Nature and the Environment and the Promotion of Sustainable Development Argonauts from Murter with the support of the Society for the Design of Sustainable Development (DOOR) from Zagreb, last week on Friday, April 26, 2024. organized two round tables in Zagreb on the topic of energy efficiency and increasing the visibility of energy and climate policies in the public.

These are the activities of the project “From plans to reality – a renewable opportunity for the future”, which is supported by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

Experts from the civil sector, local authorities and the media gathered at the round tables to analyze scenarios within the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) aimed at reducing energy consumption.

The tables were attended by representatives from the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the Croatian Association of Manufacturers of Thermal Facade Systems, the Regional Energy and Climate Agency of Northwest Croatia, the portal Zgradonačelnik, Novosti, ODRAZ (Sustainable Community Development ), agencies BRODOTO and others.

The present participants warned of the necessity of complete changes in the context of building renovation, as well as the shortcomings of a system in which the price of energy is subsidized in a way that is demotivating for all participants when we talk about reducing energy consumption.

Relatedly, increasing the visibility of energy and climate policies is a key part of achieving the goals outlined in the NECP. Therefore, it was also discussed how to improve strategies and remove barriers to informing the public about energy and climate policies. It was concluded that it is extremely important to invest funds from both state funds and project funds for promotion and informing the public and to improve communication between non-governmental organizations, relevant state institutions and the media. It is also crucial to ensure that information is accessible, understandable and relevant to a wide audience in order to encourage active participation of citizens in line with the objectives set out in the NECP. This may include various communication channels such as public forums, educational programs, media campaigns and online platforms.

In general, the project “From plans to reality” aims to create green scenarios and expert studies that will take into account the conclusions of these round tables, and which will allow key stakeholders to negotiate with decision makers on relevant updates of the National Energy and Climate Plan.

The activities of this project, throughout this year and next, are intended as a contribution to a wider debate within public policies and practices, analyzing obstacles and giving recommendations for overcoming them.

Partners in the project are organizations from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Croatia; Solární asociace, z.s./ Solar Association Head office; Union of Modern Energetics, z.s. (SME)/ Modern Energy Union (Czech Republic), Slovenská asociácia fotovoltického indústvo a OZE (SAPI)/ Slovak Association of Photovoltaic Industry and RES (SAPI) (Slovakia), Association for the Protection of Nature and the Environment and the Promotion of Sustainable Development Argonaut.

More information at https://www.euki.de/en/