The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) and the Embassy of the French Republic to Serbia organized a public debate on climate change and energy in the residence of the French Ambassador in Belgrade on June 9, 2015.
The participants agreed on the importance of reaching an agreement on the UN post-2015 development agenda and climate change, and reiterated that Serbia should take a more proactive role in the process. Moderated by CIRSD Program Director Nikola Jovanović, the panel featured five panelists: CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić, French Ambassador to Serbia Christine Moro, Belgrade University professors Vladimir Đurđević and Nikola Rajaković, as well as Vice President of the Managing Board of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development Ana Brnabić.
CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić said in his introductory remarks that the existing international order should be used as an opportunity to reach a global agreement on Sustainable Development Goals and climate change by the end of 2015. “This is perhaps the last opportunity for our generation to reach an agreement on climate change and sustainable development in order to preserve the planet and quality of life on it,” Jeremić said. He went on to underscore that joint efforts of political actors, scientific community, and civil society remain crucial in achieving progress in this process.
Jeremić also said that Serbia remains a predominantly agriculture-based economy with weak infrastructure, and that another natural disaster, reminiscent of the May 2014 floods, might deny a prosperous future to many generations to come. “Serbia has a chance to actively participate in the climate change negotiations,” Jeremić argued. He added that there is a great deal of awareness among the countries of the Western Balkans to cooperate in the areas of energy, environment protection, and waterpower engineering. Should there already exist a coordinated set of development strategies amongst the region’s countries, the private sector would, in his view, more easily see opportunities to act.
The Head of the EU delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport addressed the audience as a special guest, saying that the EU devotes a great deal of attention to climate change. To that purpose, the EU has undertaken a set of measures to ensure greenhouse gas emission is reduced significantly. He also said that Serbia has a unique opportunity to lead the region and present its plans in the forthcoming conference organized by the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the European Commission. “Serbia’s decision to reduce greenhouse gas emission as well as the timely adoption of EU laws in the field of climate and energy will undoubtedly have positive effects,” Davenport said. In his view, this will help in bringing investments in the energy sector, advancing the energy supply security, and transitioning to a highly efficient and low-carbon economy.
The Ambassador of France to Serbia Christine Moro said that joint efforts in fighting climate change cannot be nearly as effective as with active engagement of the public. “We need efforts of all citizens so that our governments can grasp the importance of climate change,” she said. France, the host country of the final negotiating cycle (COP21), has joined this collective effort because it, in Moro’s words, “represents a part of France’s universal mission, as well as part of a continued struggle for human rights in a broader sense.” This debate aimed at involving all levels of society in debates revolving around climate change.
Vladimir Đurđević, a professor of Belgrade University’s faculty of Physics, said that the main reason behind global warming and increased CO2 emission lies with the excessive use of fossil fuels. “The scientific community has been aware of this problem for decades, but lacked a real connection with the decision-making structures,” Đurđević said. Professor Đurđević also remarked that if humanity continues with the ‘business-as-usual’ approach, the consequences might not only be immense but irreversible.
Nikola Rajaković of Belgrade University’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering said that energy policy remains crucial for the state in which our planet finds itself today, adding that our generation will assume determinative responsibility. The most important part of responding to climate change is the transition to renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro energy. The second key component lies within energy efficiency, which seems to be far from satisfactory in today’s Serbia. In his words, the country is producing two thirds of electricity by thermal power plants, while one third is produced by hydro power plants.
The Vice President of the Managing Board of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development Ana Brnabić spoke about diverging trends in the EU and Serbia. While the EU keeps moving toward energy security and diversification, Serbia and surrounding countries in the region are doing everything in their power to maintain the status quo, she said. Europe has been noticeably increasing its use of renewable energy resources for the last two decades. Serbia, on the other hand, has changed none of its energy producing methods for the last 30 years.
The debate was held before a capacity crowd, many of whom included prominent scientists, professors, and representatives of the media.
Photo gallery from the event is available via the following link
