These are the conclusions of public consultations organized by Belgrade Open School and Renewable and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI), regarding the draft for the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), in order to increase the transparency of the drafting process. NCEP is a document that will determine the direction of Serbia's energy and climate policy until 2030, and the public is still not involved in its development. Consultations were attended by representatives of civil society organizations, concerned citizens and experts, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Mining and Energy. 

Mirko Popović, program director of Renewable and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI), opened the public consultations. He stated that the objectives of an essential strategic document such as National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) should be formulated through a wide dialogue of all stakeholders, and that a social consensus should be reached on these objectives. NECP will have a comprehensive impact on the whole society through decarbonization of the economy, improvement of energy efficiency, energy security, integration of the domestic energy market and support to research, innovation and competitiveness. 

Aleksandar Kovačević, an expert from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, warned that in the coming years we will face increasing droughts, floods, periods of heatwaves and extreme cold and other negative consequences of climate change that are already being felt in Serbia. Kovačević also referred to the economic drivers of the energy transition, noting that it will be increasingly difficult for countries with high carbon reliance, such as Serbia, to finance their economic development due to new mechanisms for CO2 emissions taxation. His conclusion, however, was positive. He believes that by abandoning lignite, Serbia is abandoning the unproductive energy industry, and by turning to more efficient resources, it will increase the energy production and contribute to reducing the poverty of its people. 

Hristina Vojvodić from RERI reminded that thermal power plants in Serbia are still the biggest polluters, which is why both the nature and the citizens suffer, and that Serbia still does not have a concrete plan to abandon coal based energy production. She emphasized that NECP development is a place for discussion which will lead to adequate paths to climate neutrality, but care must be taken so the effects of these changes do not break on the back of the most vulnerable members of society.  

Ognjan Pantić from the Belgrade Open School concluded that it is extremely important that different sectors within the public administration cooperate with each other and connect better, for the process of devising energy and climate policy. Only in this way the plans from other sectors affecting the energy and climate policy, will be harmonized with NECP. As particularly important documents, he singled out the still unadopted Low Carbon Development Strategy, as well as the draft for the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia, which leaves room for the construction of as many as three gigawatts of new coal-burning power plants. 

Maja Matija Ristić, acting Secretary of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, informed the public about the activities of the Ministry on the development of NECP, as well as other activities aimed at tackling climate change, improving energy efficiency and environmental protection. Ristić stated that the position of the Ministry of Mining and Energy regarding the draft for the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia is in line with the opinions of civil society organizations, and that there is no place for new thermal energy capacities in the energy transition process that has been initiated. Finally, Ristic shared the Ministry's plans to have the NECP draft ready by December this year. 

Viktor Berišaj, from the Climate Action Network Europe, mentioned the regional context of energy transition and stressed that, given that all countries in the region are working on the development of their own NECPs, regional cooperation on harmonizing objectives and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is needed. Berišaj also pointed out the inevitability of closing thermal power plants, even if no additional measures are taken in the direction of decarbonization, since the working life of existing thermal power plants in Serbia ends around 2040. 

Belgrade Open School and Regulatory Institute for Renewable Energy and the Environment organized public consultations on Wednesday, November 24 2021, with the support of the British Embassy in Belgrade and the European Climate Foundation.