President Milanović: Public Awareness on the Need for Energy Transition Should be Strengthened in Croatia
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović participated in the 1st session of the Energy Transition Council of the President of the Republic of Croatia, established with the aim of organizing and holding expert discussions on particularly important issues in the field of energy transition (the transition to clean and sustainable energy sources, climate protection) in order to prepare and communicate the foundations and guidelines based on expertise in the field of energy transition, and to develop a strategic platform that is of interest to the Republic of Croatia.
After the introductory part of the Council session at which the members and goals of the Council were presented, President Milanović recalled during press statements that from the very beginning of his term he tried to send a message that the topics of climate change and green policies are very important for the Republic of Croatia and that awareness on the need for energy transition should be strengthened. “This group comprises our top experts, these are well respected people, this is a multidisciplinary approach and I expect them to produce a document that can go in the legislative direction as our contribution, not in a debate but on a path we are on together, which we may offer to the Government and Croatian Parliament,” said President Milanović. He added that he would continue to work on this topic in the future. He reminded that he had joined the Initiative for More Climate Ambition led by Austrian President Van der Bellen and announced that in September he would participate, together with the Austrian President, in the Austrian World Summit in Vienna.
The Chair of the Energy Transition Council of the President of the Republic of Croatia Julije Domac, PhD, Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for Energy and Climate, noted that the Council will give advice to the President of the Republic, provide guidelines, increase ambitions and the quality of work in all sectors dealing with energy transition. He added that the Council includes economic experts, successful businesspeople, representatives of investors as well as the journalist profession. “Energy transition is not an issue of technology, energy transition is an issue of justice, of equal opportunities for all our citizens, of equality, sustainability, morals, generation solidarity, patriotism, future, everything we must leave not only to posterity but also to ourselves”, Domac stated. “We have the chance of a generation and we have people in Croatia who are experts and who often work on larger and more ambitious projects outside of Croatia than within Croatia. Possibilities for European funding in the next few years are great, and now we finally have a political framework. I think that these three factors will accelerate and enable energy transition”, Domac concluded.
Comprising the Energy Transition Council of the President of the Republic of Croatia are: Ivan Andročec PhD, Hrvatska elektroprivreda (Croatian Electrical Utility), Dražen Jakšić, Energy institute Hrvoje Požar, Darko Jardas, Regional Energy Agency Kvarner, Vedrana Jelušić Kašić, Deloitte d.o.o., Prof. Daria Karasalihović Sedlar PhD, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Mario Klobučar, Hrvatske šume d.o.o. (Croatian Forests), Asst. Prof. Ankica Kovač PhD, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Kristijan Lovrenščak, Tehnostan d.o.o. Vukovar, Boris Markota MSc, The Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS d.o.o.), Dino Novosel, Hrvatski telekom (Croatian Telecom), Bojan Reščec, RP Global CSE d.o.o., Toni Vidan, Zelena akcija (Friends of the Earth Croatia), Maruška Vizek PhD, The Institute of Economics Zagreb, Sandra Vlašić PhD, Terra Hub, Hrvoje Zovko, Croatian Journalists’ Association and Asst. Prof. Tea Žakula PhD, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas