Serbia is on the path to energy efficiency and Germany is here to help
| 10 November 2009 - Comments (0) | Reflections |
Kuće Beodom took part in the conference on Serbian-German Dialogue on Energy Efficiency last monday. The conference was opened by the German Ambassador and 2 ministers from the Serbian goverment. It focused on energy efficiency through numerous projects and measures being implemented with technical and financial support from Germany.
The conference was organized by the German Embassy of Belgrade, KfW, GTZ and the German Business Association in Serbia. It was opened by H.E. Wolfram Maas, German Ambassador of Serbia, Dr Petar Škundrić, Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining, and Oliver Dulić, Serbian Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning.
Opening panel
Ambassador Wolfram Maas emphasized the strong links that already exist between Germany and Serbia. Energy efficiency is an essential part of the Climate Change mitigation policies that are actively discussed in view of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month.
Opening panel at the conference Serbian-German Dialogue on Energy Efficiency. From left to right Leo Kreuz, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Head of Division for Europe, Turkey and Iran, Oliver Dulić, Serbian Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Heike Poerksen (moderator), Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Serbia, 1st Secretary of Economic Cooperation, Petar Škundrić, Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining, Wolfram Maas, German Ambassador in Serbia. (photo Beodom).
Minister Petar Škundrić gaves us an idea of how much Germany already invested in Serbia, in the form of grants and loans, to secure and renovate the electricity production capacity in Serbia.
Ministers Oliver Dulić and Dr. Petar Škundrić (photo Beodom).
Minister Oliver Dulić pointed out the new law on Planning and Construction as a way to make new buildings energy efficient. He said that lot of efforts could be made on individual houses (many of them do not have a facade) by helping owners to put a facade with thermal insulation. The repayment period for such an investment would be no more than a couple of years as the energy savings would be big. Sponsored micro-loans could be the solution of such a program. He mentioned that energy efficiency measure do not need to be expensive or complicated.
Minister Oliver Dulić (photo Beodom).
Leo Kreuz said that Germany is committed to support and assist Serbia for its economic development, the well being of the population and for energy saving. €400 millions have been committed so far on 3 main axis :
- secure electricity supply
- energy efficiency on the supply side
- energy efficiency on the consumer side.
Climate Change Mitigation
Dr. Jochen Harnisch, from KfW, Germany Coordinator on Climate Change Policy, gave us an idea of the challenges ahead regarding Climate Change Mitigation. The amount by which emission of green house gases must be reduced is simply staggering and needs massive action. Non-Annex I countries, such as Serbia, need to cut their emission by 70% to stay on the goal of 450ppm of CO2 (parts per million, PPM, of Carbon Dioxide, CO2, in the atmosphere). And many scientists are calling for 350ppm to be the real goal to avoid catastrophic climate changes...
Massive Emission Reduction by Industrialized and Developing Countries Needed Until 2050. Note : BAU = Business As Usual. (photo Beodom).
Dr Harnisch, pointed out that, since Serbia is part of the group of "developing and transition countries", it is eligible to help from richer countries. Therefore, the effort to fight climate change is also an opportunity to seize in Serbia.
Serbia's status under the Kyoto Protocol (photo Beodom).
Serbian Energy Efficiency
Prof. Vladan Karamarković, Assistant Minister, Serbian Ministry of Energy and Mining, presented the new Serbian Energy Efficiency Legislation, in particular, the draft Law on Rational Use of Energy.
He pointed out that it is much cheaper to reduce consumption of electricity, through rationalization and energy efficiency measures than to build new production facilities that cost over €1 Million per megawatt capacity. Yet, barriers exit in Serbia against the wide adoption of energy efficiency measures, one of them being the price of electricity that is unrealistically low.
Barriers for the adoption of energy efficiency measures in Serbia (photo Beodom).
The good news is that Serbia is putting in place a coherent program for the development strategy of the energy sector. It will affect all sectors concerned about energy.
Program for the development strategy of the energy sector (photo Beodom).
The cornerstone of this program will be the Law on Rational Use of Energy that has been draft will the financial help from gtz.
Draft Law on Rational Use of Energy (photo Beodom).
We were glad to hear that a fund of 20 to 25 millions euros for energy efficiency will be put in place, providing loans at 0% interest rate with a grace period. It will be first targeted for the insulation of individual houses.
Conclusion
Situation regarding awarness of climate change and the necessity to take serious action on the front of energy efficiency has changed much in Serbia during the past 3 years. We see that a momentum is building up right now. With the challenges ahead of us regarding climate change, that is very much welcome.
