A workshop on the topics of climate and energy policy was held in the premises of the Belgrade Open School, on Tuesday, March 27th 2018. The workshop was attended by representatives of organisations gathered in Coalition 27, as well as representatives of the Health and Environment Alliance and the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute - RERI.
Nemanja Milovic, secretary of the Coalition 27, delivered the opening remarks. After the introductory part, Igor Kalaba from the organisation Climate inAction Network Europe (CAN) presented the climate and energy framework for the development of Serbia's energy system and opened a discussion on this topic. In the second part, with the introductory presentation of Mirjana Jovanović from the Belgrade Open School, the topic of the current state of energy and climate policy in Serbia was opened. In the last part of the workshop, a review of the negotiating chapter 15, as well as the role of civil society organisations in the energy sector was made.
 
The European Union, the Energy Community and commitments undertaken with the signing of the Paris Agreement provide a framework for the development of Serbia's energy and climate policies. Through the discussion, it was pointed out that the long-term objectives of the energy and climate policy of the European Union are being rapidly revised and improved in the direction of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, increasing the share of energy obtained from renewable sources and better energy efficiency, which is not the case in Serbia - although these are goals that have to be fulfilled, if it wants to become a member of the European Union. One of the key problems is inaccurate and unreliable data about pollution provided by measuring stations, as well as lack of transparency, which makes the data hardly accessible.

Processes and events important for the development of climate change policy in Serbia, such as the announced public debate on the Draft Law on Climate Change, and the process of drafting the Climate Change Strategy with the Action Plan - were also important topics of this meeting’s agenda. Speaking about the Draft Law on Climate Change and the announced public debate, the partner organisations gathered in Coalition 27 agreed to join forces in taking part in this process.

Author of the photo: Belgrade Open School