On Friday, May 26th a workshop entitled "Towards a Transparent and Inclusive Climate Change Policy in Serbia: Participation of Civil Society in Developing the Climate Change Strategy" was held in the Startit Center. The workshop was jointly organized by the Belgrade Open School, the RES Foundation and the Coalition 27. The workshop was organized with the aim to introduce civil society organizations with the development of Climate Change Strategy, its goals, as well as to identify opportunities for public participation and tools through which the public can contribute to this document.
The first part of the workshop was devoted to a discussion on the importance of adopting the Climate Change Strategy for further development of climate change policies in the Republic of Serbia. The workshop was opened by Stevan Petrovic from the Belgrade Open School and Jovana Dragic from the Coalition 27 by underlining the importance of climate change policies and expressing the hope that the workshop would contribute to the actualization of this topic. In the first session, the emphasis was primarily placed on the contradiction that exists between declarative commitment to continuing the European integration process and implementation of European standards on one hand and planning further development on the exploitation of fossil fuels on the other, which is stressed in numerous strategic documents of the Republic of Serbia.
By giving an overview of the obligations the Republic of Serbia has in regard to harmonizing its climate policy with international standards, Aleksandar Macura from RES Foundation stressed the importance and cost-effectiveness of timely reforms aiming at compliance with the policy at the EU level, as well as the risks and costs of maintaining the status quo in this field. Zvezdan Kalmar from the Center for Ecology and Sustainable Development has emphasized the importance of climate change policies as "horizontal" policies which have a major impact on many sectors and, in accordance to that, the need for a comprehensive approach in designing this policy. As one of the concerning questions, he singled out the lack of transparency in including certain actors in the process of creating a climate policy and the influence of vested interests.
In the second part of the workshop, an overview was given regarding activities and mechanisms implemented by civil society organizations taking part in the workshop through their involvement in climate change policy development. Ana Rankovic and Lidija Kesar from the organization "Fractal" have presented a platform named "Carbon Footprint Calculator for Southeast Europe for 2050”. It is an interactive platform that, by taking into account all key segments of the economy in terms of energy production and consumption and relying on various parameters, scientific and engineering data, gives an overview of options for planning further development of the country, which would be compliant with the long-term objectives set by 2050 at the EU level.
Djordje Samardzija from One Degree Serbia presented the project “Serbia without fossil fuels: Alternate INDC”, aiming to present alternative scenario for economy development and just transition towards low-carbon economy by 2050, presenting a vision of Serbia without fossil fuels. A research was done through this project, founded on premises of using available technology only, as well as assessments of renewable energy sources’ potential and chances of depending on them completely.
Jasminka Young from RES Foundation presented the activities of her organization related to engaging all stakeholders in the process of development of Climate Change Strategy. A research carried out by RES foundation was presented, related to local authorities, their needs and expectations regarding the process of developing Climate Change Strategy. Results of the research have shown that local stakeholders are very interested in taking part in the process, as well as that there’s a great need for decentralized solutions tackling energy issues and energy transition.
Mirjana Jovanović from Belgrade Open School presented the organization’s activities carried out in the previous period, related to climate policy. Activities and goals of Belgrade Open School were presented: energy production with minimal greenhouse gas emissions and cooperation with local authorities in improving local communities’ resilience to climate change. BOS has addressed climate policy issues through its ReEnergy initiative, dedicated to improving energy efficiency policy and establishment of energy management system on local level, as well as through its work in South-West Serbia, primarily municipality of Sjenica, through gathering of all relevant stakeholders and initiating discussion regarding risks of fossil fuel-based regional development and defining sustainable development alternatives that are in line with environment and natural resources preservation.
Participants of the workshop agreed about the importance of developing Climate Change Strategy, due to its cross-sectoral impact, and recognized the process as an opportunity for reaffirming the commitment towards implementation of high environmental standards and creating new development paradigm. Transparency and inclusiveness of the process were recognized as very important for success of the whole process.
Author of the photo: Belgrade Open School