Through joint investments and projects, EU and Serbia are working together to improve the energy sector, promoting security and greater availability of cleaner energy, through the development of renewable sources, increasing energy efficiency and modernizing the power grid - these are the conclusions of the conference "Belgrade Energy Days", held on October 2 at the European House in Belgrade.
"Serbia has entered the train of green transition, which implies a complete change in the way of thinking, primarily in terms of the way of using energy", stated Assistant Minister of Mining and Energy for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Maja Vukadinović.
Secretary for Energy of the City of Belgrade, Milan Čukićpointed out that Belgrade, as the capital of Serbia, is the initiator of major changes in the field of energy efficiency.
"Energy is eternal and changes forms, and this energy that we want to show today is to change society and the world on certain topics. A few years ago we didn't know what an energy manager or an energy passport was, now it's different," Čukić said.
State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy Vladimir Arsenić reminded that energy is one of the key development issues and that without reliable, innovative and green energy solutions there is no strong economy, competitiveness or long-term growth.
Read more:
On the first day of the conference there was a panel on Serbia's energy transition in the service of economy, with a focus on ways in which the state can support companies in better using the potential of green transition.
Attendees emphasized that Serbia introduced Integrated climate plan until 2030. and Energy development strategy until 2040which gives clear signal for economy to follow direction of green transition.
Additional panels "Innovations for a new era of energy" and "Law, economy and energy" brought together experts from energy, digital technologies and legal practice, which opened up broader topics about innovations, legislative framework and future development of the sector.
EU is the biggest donor of Serbia in the field of energy, in which it has invested over one billion euros in grants since 2000. In Serbia, the EU finances projects aimed at security of supply, diversification of energy sources, market liberalization and improvement of energy efficiency. The ultimate goal is to reduce pollution and mitigate climate change, which are also the goals of the European Green Deal and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans,which Serbia supported in 2020.