The goals of the strategy are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase security of energy supply.
Croatia is working on a new energy strategy which will, in addition to the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions, increase the security of energy supply and its sustainability, increase the availability of energy, and reduce energy dependence, said on Friday the State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy Ante Čikotić.
The main emphasis of the strategy will be on changes in the energy sector, which has to become more effective and be in the service of citizens and the economy, said Čikotić at a conference organized by the Croatian Energy Association.
In addition to the drafting of the new strategy, he said that the main priorities of the energy policy were reform of the institutional framework in the energy sector, professionalisation of management in state-owned energy companies, and the promotion of advanced energy networks. He added that the current fragmentation of responsibilities represented an obstacle for entrepreneurs.
“Therefore, we are moving towards the consolidation of certain agencies and institutions related to the energy sector with the aim of creating a single institution that will be the focal point of the energy ideas and generator of new and progressive ideas in the energy sector”, he said, adding that the reform of the energy sector would begin by establishing a proactive and independent energy regulatory agency.
Čikotić said that Croatia was intensively working on policies related to the reduction of consequences of climate change and that it was among the first countries in the EU which had started working on a low-carbon development strategy. That is a basic document that will commit Croatia to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and that goal will be incorporated in the specific sectors as well – transport, construction, energy, agriculture and economy.
“The low-carbon development will enable Croatia to achieve economic growth with lower consumption of electricity and other forms of energy, and with more use of renewable sources. It will therefore become a society based on green technologies”, said Čikotić. He said that the Ministry was developing a strategy to adapt to climate change, which will bring insight about impacts on vulnerable sectors, such as tourism. All this will enable the development of Croatia as a country resistant to climate change, with low levels of emissions, a green economy and a stable and sustainable energy supply, said Čikotić.
President of the Croatian Energy Association Goran Granić said that Croatia had made a significant step forward, since the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy was established, which allows the formulation of a comprehensive energy and climate policy. He said that the energy sector should be a synergy of different factors – climate protection, energy markets, infrastructure, and greater use of renewable sources. “Only those energy systems which are well balanced are safe”, said Granić. He added that “a comprehensive energy and climate policy is a response to the problems and the real direction for planning the energy development”.
