In spite of US President Donald Trump’s decision, Croatia remains united with its EU partners.
Reacting to a statement made by US President Donald Trump that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Accord on climate change, State Secretary at the Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy Mario Šiljeg, who is currently Acting Minister, said that the goals of the Paris Accord were a challenge even before and that the US decision to leave the Accord makes them even harder to reach. However, he added that Croatia, as a party to the Paris Accord, would remain united with its European Union partners, reports Novi List on June 3, 2017.
“With its territorial and demographic features, Croatia does not have a decisive influence on climate change and is therefore interested in reaching a global agreement and respecting the agreement to prevent further global warming. As a full party of the Paris Accord, we stand united with our partners from the European Union,” said Šiljeg.
The Ministry pointed out that the Paris Accord was signed by 195 countries and that Croatia was the 147th state to ratify it. The instrument of ratification was submitted to the depositary in New York on the 24th of May 2017, and the Accord will enter into force for Croatia on the 23rd of June.
“Croatia is actively preparing for the fulfillment of the obligations arising from the Paris Accord. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy has drafted the Low Carbon Strategy of Croatia by 2030 and is in the process of developing the Climate Change Adjustment Strategy of Croatia by 2040,” the Ministry stated, adding that, under the Paris Accord, the European Union has committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to the 1990 emission levels. The member states will implement their obligations through the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Within the EU ETS system, a general quota was set up. A debate on the proposal of the regulations until 2030 is currently under way, and for Croatia, the goal of reducing emissions by seven percent compared to the levels in 2005 has been set.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy emphasises that the primary objective of the Paris Accord is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature increase to less than two degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial levels. “According to climate models and scenarios, experts estimate that by 2100 temperatures in Croatia will rise by 2.4 to 4.9 degrees Celsius, and there is also a general trend of extreme droughts and floods that affect all human activities. Global climate change also affects changes in sea temperature and salinity, and changes in circulation influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems. The long coastline makes Croatia vulnerable to rising sea levels,” announced the Ministry.
The NGO Green Action urged the government to condemn Donald Trump’s decision strongly. “With this move, Trump has turned the United States into a kind of ‘villain’ in the struggle against climate change. Other countries have to go forward without the leading world pollutant. They cannot use the USA as an excuse to avoid their responsibilities because it is unacceptable to weaken the Paris Accord further,” Green Action said, stressing that the agreement will come into force in Croatia on the 23rd of June, 2017, and that the withdrawal of the United States – a process that will last almost four years – does not and will not change this fact.
