The list of positive moves made between 2021 and today isn’t a short one, but success requires cooperation among all stakeholders
Earth’s climate is changing, and those changes are primarily a result of human activity. Climate change is a genuine and serious problem for our environment and for humankind. Firstly, it was in 2021 that Serbia adopted laws that contribute to the sustainability of the planet: the Law on Climate Change, the Law on Energy Efficiency and the Rational Use of Energy, and the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources.
The adoption of these new laws speeds up the country’s transition to “clean energy” and a “green economy”, with the need for social and economic consequences to be taken into consideration. As a fully signed-up member of the Energy Community Treaty and an EU membership candidate country, and having supported the Paris Agreement on climate change and signed the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, Serbia has international obligations to begin the process of gradually phasing out coal-generated energy, with specific goals and milestones. The engaging of stakeholders is a crucial aspect of managing this transition successfully. It is important that we confront the challenges that climate change brings us and that we all feel.
We are working in partnership with the public and private sectors to strengthen “green awareness” among citizens and to advocate for a green economy
A key role in this work is played by cooperation among all players and joint climate action. Implementing the new laws requires action at every level from the local to the national. Secondly, the National Council on Climate Change has been established and tasked with reducing the impact of climate change as a global threat with consequences that are felt by the citizens of Serbia. It envisages the participation of civil society organisations. Here the NGO sector has an informative role to play by working, through various activities, to provide opportunities for institutions, enterprises, employees and the unemployed to build their capacities, develop their skills and share knowhow on the greening of policies and practices, providing support to a fair transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy. NGO Aarhus Centre Novi Sad implemented several climate-awareness actions during 2023 and we are working in partnership with the public and private sectors to strengthen “green awareness”.
Our activities are directed towards promoting and advocating for a green economy, which is defined as an economy that has a low level of carbon emissions and as a socially inclusive and efficient economy in terms of resource use. Thirdly, corporations and SMEs in Serbia are harmonising their business strategies with sustainability goals and providing solutions that make it possible to create a safer, greener and more connected world. And all of this contributes to reducing the pressure on nature.
