EU4Energy 2024 Work Programme to advance energy governance in Partner Countries

19.01.2024

eko — Photo-illustration: Freepik (freepik)

Photo-illustration: Freepik (rawpixel.com)

The EU4Energy initiative is pleased to announce its January to December 2024 Work Programme, focused towards defining and implementing the EU4Energy Governance project activities. The initiative’s approach is grounded in addressing the requests and needs of each Partner Country, with a comprehensive plan to advance energy sector development and sustainability.

The Work Programme for 2024 identifies key priority areas that will serve as the foundation for EU4Energy’s activities throughout the year:

Ongoing support for renewable energy, gas market, and energy efficiency

Continuing its commitment to sustainable energy solutions, EU4Energy will provide continuous support to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine in vital areas such as renewable energy, gas market development, and energy efficiency. These initiatives are crucial for reducing carbon footprints and fostering environmentally responsible energy practices.

Capacity building for stakeholders

Recognizing the importance of building local expertise and capabilities, EU4Energy will focus on capacity building for ministries, regulators, transmission system operators (TSOs), and other stakeholders in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Enhanced knowledge and skills will drive long-term energy sector growth.

Implementation of the Electricity Integration Package

The programme will actively support the implementation of the Electricity Integration Package, emphasizing the importance of addressing the post-synchronisation process in Moldova and Ukraine. Integration into regional electricity networks enhances energy security and resilience.

Tailored support for Partner Countries

In addition to the common priorities, EU4Energy’s 2024 Work Programme tailors its support to specific needs in each Partner Country:

Georgia: The focus will be on supporting the Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE) and the Georgian National Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (GNERC) in drafting the Residual Mix Calculation Methodology and disclosure rules of Guarantees of Origin.

Moldova: Special attention will be given to the implementation of Law 10/2016, which promotes the use of energy from renewable sources. EU4Energy will particularly concentrate on the development of relevant secondary legal acts to facilitate the transition to sustainable energy.

Ukraine: The initiative will maintain a spotlight on Ukraine Support Activities, specifically supporting the management of the Energy Community Secretariat’s established Fiduciary account for the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.

Funded by the European Union, the EU4Energy initiative is a collaborative effort between the Energy Community Secretariat, the Council of European Energy Regulators, and the International Energy Agency. The project’s overarching goal is to help Moldova create an investment-friendly environment for a cost-effective energy transition, aligning with the 2030 energy and climate targets outlined in the 2022 Ministerial Council decision.

Source: Energy Community

Cigarette butts – from waste to asphalt mixture

18.01.2024

The health hazard that cigarette consumption causes for both active and passive smokers is a problem that most people are familiar with. In the EU countries, cigarette packets feature disturbing photos and inscriptions of diseases that can develop from smoking. However, this problem affects not only people but also nature, something that is not talked about enough. Relevant data show that more than 15 billion cigarettes are smoked globally per day. The problem becomes even bigger when we take into account the results of a survey that showed that over 70 percent of smokers throw cigarette butts into nature.

The negative impact that this waste has is not only evident at the place where the cigarette butt is discarded. When it rains, the rainwater that soaks cigarettes causes the release of more than 6,000 toxic and carcinogenic substances into the ground which then travel deeper into the soil and groundwater. Moreover, just one cigarette can contaminate up to five litres of water. As everything in nature is connected by a continuous cycle, these very harmful substances that end up in the soil also reach the plants that take nutrients from such polluted soil. If someone does not care about nature, but about the health of the people, this is a good explanation of how everything returns to humanity like a boomerang. If we eat food produced from these polluted plants, we are re-engesting harmful substances into our bodies again.

Other research highlights another problem when it comes to plants, which is that cigarette butts affect their growth. The following experiment was conducted – plant seeds were planted in two pots and a cigarette was placed in one of them. The result showed that 30 percent fewer plants (quantity) grew in the pot with the cigarette butt and that those plants that managed to grow were also 30 percent smaller (in size) compared to those that grew in the healthy pot.

In order to solve the pollution that cigarette butts cause, the EcoButt Company from Slovakia devised a way to recycle cigarette butts. The end result is a top-quality product which is used in the production of asphalt mixtures. Everything starts with good infrastructure, that is, special ashtrays that are placed in public places where smokers often smoke. The second step is the collection itself, which, given that cigarette butts are not considered municipal waste, requires a special organization. This kind of collection is done once or twice a month.

How to turn cigarette butts into asphalt?

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Juan Cardenas)

The company published an interesting piece of information on its official website – out of 500 people, a third thought that the cigarette filter was made of paper, while another third said that it was made of cotton. However, what is actually hidden inside a cigarette is plastic, i.e. the so-called acetyl cellulose, which takes about 15 years to decompose. It is this property that is used in the production of asphalt. Acetyl cellulose granulate is produced by the processing of cigarette butts, which replaces the usual cellulose granulate needed in the process of creating an asphalt mixture.

Using this kind of recycling not only reduces cigarette waste but also saves trees. Namely, cellulose is a natural polymer that is found in plants and by its modification, the aforementioned material is obtained.

How does Serbia treat this kind of waste?

The streets in cities throughout our country are full of cigarette butts. Moreover, Serbia occupies one of the highest positions globally when it comes to the number of smokers. That is why we should fully support such solutions.

However, our country does have ideas on how to reduce cigarette waste. A few years ago, the students of the Dušan Trivunac Dragoš High School in Svrljica invented a biodegradable cigarette filter, which is made of unbleached cellulose and contains plant seeds. Also, the Naša Kuća Parent Association produces recycled paper from cigarette packs. Environmentally conscious smokers can take their cigarette packs to this association for recycling.

Katarina Vuinac

EBRD loan to support green initiatives in Bulgaria and Greece

18.01.2024

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Photo-illustration: Unsplash/Micheile Henderson

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a 60 million euros loan to Bulgaria’s ProCredit Bank to finance investments that mitigate the impacts of climate change and promote environmental resilience.

The proceeds of the loan will be allocated for on-lending to green projects in Bulgaria and Greece, including, among others, projects on energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate resilience measures.

The loan will expand ProCredit Bank Bulgaria’s green lending activities, and will accelerate both countries’ transition towards greener, more sustainable economies.

Procredit Bank Bulgaria has been a pioneer in green financing in Bulgaria, committed to activities aimed at protecting the environment, improving energy efficiency and reducing the ecological footprint. Established in 2001 by an alliance of international development-oriented investors, ProCredit Bank Bulgaria is now solely owned by ProCredit Holding, based in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), and focuses its support on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Melis Ekmen Tabojer, EBRD Director for European Union Banks and Structured Finance, has welcomed the partnership, saying: “We are pleased to be building on our successful track record with ProCredit Bank. Over the last few years, we have witnessed the devastating impacts of the climate crisis in Greece and Bulgaria, and we are confident that this loan, which prioritises green projects, will contribute to mitigating that impact, and accelerate the journey towards a sustainable future for both countries.”

“Our strategic partnership with the EBRD allows us to provide continuous, regular support to SMEs with appropriate financing solutions. The new loan agreement, together with our in-house expertise and experience, will help Bulgarian and Greek companies become more competitive and innovative in the context of today’s rapid-paced green transition,” said Rumyana Todorova, Member of the Management Board and Executive Director of ProCredit Bank.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Bulgaria, with a cumulative investment of 4.5 billion euros in more than 290 projects in the country. The Bank’s focus in the country remains on enhancing private-sector competitiveness, strengthening the financial sector and narrowing the infrastructure gap.

Source: EBRD

Great britain’s ambitious plans for nuclear energy

17.01.2024

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (lukas-lehotsky)

The United Kingdom relies heavily on renewable wind energy and gas as well. In recent years, there has been a similar demand for gas and wind and these two sources are the country’s main energy pillars.

However, the country is actively working on its plans to modernize and expand its nuclear capacity. The Civil Nuclear Roadmap is a roadmap for the expansion of nuclear energy in the country, with the view of reducing the population’s energy bills, while making the country as safe as possible, given that the energy crisis has reminded us how important it is to have regular energy supply. This is the country’s largest energy capacity expansion in 70 years.

Key elements of this plan include exploring the construction of large nuclear power plants and investing in advanced nuclear fuel production.

In 2023, the country produced about 15 percent of its electricity from about 6.5GW of nuclear-generated capacity, however, most of the existing reactors will be decommissioned by the end of this decade, with the plan to design next-generation reactors. Plans call for up to 24GW of new capacity by 2050, which is over three times the current capacity. The idea is that a quarter of the electricity needed by then will come from nuclear reactors, according to the World Energy Association.

One of the key aspects of this plan is improving regulations in order to expedite the development of new power plants, but also the government providing financial assistance by investing hundreds of millions of British pounds in the production of uranium for fuel. The government has also launched two consultations: one on a new approach to siting future nuclear power plants and another on encouraging private investment in advanced nuclear projects, World Nuclear News adds.

The UK is one more country to decide to invest in nuclear energy and its development to meet the goals of climate neutrality, in addition to ensuring energy security.

This comprehensive plan puts the UK on track to nearly quadruple its nuclear capacity by 2050, a rather ambitious plan.

Energy Portal

Investing in innovation is a sure way to have a quality product

17.01.2024

6.6MW_Windach_Germany_installed-by-Feneco — Photo: : 6.6MW Windach Germany installed by Feneco

As one of the biggest producers of solar inverters in the world, the SolarEdge Company is known for investing in the most innovative technology, while their products undergo very demanding tests to ensure top quality. They focused their business to the greatest extent on Serbia, Slovenia, Greece, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria, but they did not bypass the other Western Balkan countries either. The energy crisis and the drive to achieve energy independence accelerated the company’s development in 2023.

We talked with Christian Carraro, General Manager for South Europe at SolarEdge, about the photovoltaic (PV) market, inverter capacity, the company’s operations in the year marked by the energy crisis and ensuring safety under the solar roof.

What business venture in Serbia in 2023 are you most proud of and why?

We are very proud of the installations we developed together with our partners – 700KW at the Bizerba building, 1MW at the Gemax building and 1MW at the Champicomp building. Of course, our inverters are used and can be seen at many other solar power plants throughout Serbia. I must point out that we are working on several ongoing projects together with multinational corporations. These are mostly roof installations. In terms of the PV market, there is strong interest in residential buildings and even more so in commercial and industrial buildings. The PV market has been developing rapidly in the post-summer season, but not as rapidly as at the beginning of the year.

IN FOCUS:

You are recognized for your leadership potential in the inverter sector thanks to technology, research and development. How do on-grid inverters work and what are their most important advantages?

Photo: 6.6MW Windach Germany installed by Feneco

First and foremost, I need to explain the inverter’s role. A traditional inverter connects to the grid, converts DC to AC to DC and finds its maximum point at the array level on a group of modules. What does SolarEdge do differently than others? Thanks to the power optimizers, the inverter can find the MPPT at the single module level, therefore allowing the system to produce more power.

On top of that, it can provide greater safety thanks to two technologies – Sense Connect, which automatically detects and warns of abnormal temperature, and SafeDC, which automatically shuts down the system to reach safe levels, keeping maintenance teams or rescuers safe. Last but not least, thanks to the power optimizers, the performance of each individual module can be monitored. SolarEdge offers customers complete solutions.

Which facilities are best suited for SolarEdge installations and why?

All residential and commercial/ industrial roofs are suitable for SolareEdge installations. We also launched a new Agri PV sector, which is an agricultural solar solution for the generation of electricity from renewable sources with almost uninterrupted use of agricultural land. Plus, next year we will have a dedicated utility-scale solution. We have already started the production of a new 330KW inverter.

Interviewed by: Mirjana Vujadinović Tomevski

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine ESPONSIBLE BUSINESS.

New global fisheries management body’s first meeting focuses on sustainable practices and promoting biodiversity

16.01.2024

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Eddie Bugajewski)

A new global fisheries management body was launched yesterday with key items on the agenda including best practices and approaches for the effective management of fisheries resources, and improvements in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) methodology to estimate the state and health of the world’s marine fish stocks.

The fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, the promotion of adaptive responses to the climate crisis, and mainstreaming biodiversity will also be on the agenda of the COFI Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management’s 15-18 January 2024 meeting, with a specific focus on small-scale fisheries.

Over 500 million people globally depend, at least partially, on fisheries for their livelihoods – nearly half of them women when considering the whole value chain. While 65 percent of fish stocks were within biological sustainable levels, 35 percent were estimated to be at unsustainable levels – a proportion that has been increasing since the 1970s.

The COFI Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management’s main functions are to provide technical and policy guidance on fisheries management, identify global challenges and opportunities, and promote collective solutions to ensure the environmental, economic and social sustainability of a sector that is crucial for global food security and nutrition.

“Improving global fisheries management remains crucial to restore ecosystems to a healthy and productive state and to protect the long-term supply of aquatic foods,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in his address to the opening of the meeting’s virtual plenary session. “This improvement also includes eliminating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and on addressing the impacts of the climate crisis, and biodiversity degradation that are also heavily impacting aquatic and coastal ecosystems and dependent communities”.

Qu underscored that the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management will play an important role in addressing these global and complex issues. It will identify and discuss major trends and issues in fisheries management that require measures and make recommendations to the Committee on Fisheries to help advance implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and achieve the vision set out in FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-31 for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The Director-General noted that the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management will guide FAO’s Blue Transformation roadmap and its core objective of ensuring that global fisheries resources – including in lakes, rivers and seas – are efficiently and effectively managed.

On the agenda

During this week’s meeting, Members will share insights, experiences and effective strategies to enhance fisheries management, explicitly considering ecological, social, economic, nutritional and gender objectives. The discussion will be particularly geared towards improving practices in small-scale fisheries both inland and marine, fostering a holistic approach to sustainable management.

Members will also discuss ways to assess the magnitude and impact of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This includes reviewing monitoring, control and surveillance systems, as well as enforcement requirements, and improving compliance with international conservation and management measures.

FAO has undertaken various activities to support Members in transitioning to climate resilient fisheries management, and this issue is to feature during the session. The Sub-Committee is expected to share lessons learned towards integrating climate change into national and multilateral fisheries management and governance and recommend areas that need further development, including increasing the adaptive capacity of fisheries operations and assets.

The importance of integrating biodiversity considerations in fisheries management within the context of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity is also on the agenda.

Better statistics on the horizon

During the session, Members will review methodological updates to FAO’s State of Stocks Index (SoSI), which has been published every two years since 1971 and presented in FAO’s flagship The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report since 1997.

FAO is the only organization mandated to collect such statistics worldwide. The proposed updates aim to enhance transparency, geographical coverage, and measurement accuracy to better reflect changes in dominant species, stocks and fisheries practices and align with reporting initiatives and requirements.

COFI, a Technical Committee of FAO,, is the only global inter-governmental forum where major international fisheries and aquaculture problems and issues are examined and recommendations addressed to governments, regional fishery bodies, NGOs, fish workers, FAO Members and the international community.

COFI already has two other sub-committees: one on aquaculture and another on the fish trade. With the creation of the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management, there is now a third sub-committee entirely dedicated to sustainable fisheries management.

Source: FAO

China’s petrochemical surge is driving global oil demand growth

15.01.2024

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Grant Durr)

The global petrochemical industry – essential to the production of clothing, tyres, detergents, fertilisers, and countless other everyday products – is currently going through a momentous period of transition. Driving this change is a towering wave of new petrochemical plants, most notably in China. This is shifting oil demand to the country as it increases production of plastics and synthetic fibres, while generating increasingly cutthroat competition among those that previously dominated the market.

The speed and scale of the expansion of China’s petrochemical sector dwarfs any historical precedent, roughly doubling the pace of earlier capacity additions in the Middle East and United States. Between 2019 and 2024, China is set to add as much production capacity for ethylene and propylene – the two most important petrochemical building blocks – as presently exists in Europe, Japan and Korea combined.

The structural transformation of the petrochemical industry has been reshaping global patterns of oil consumption. Global oil use in 2023 has decisively surpassed pre-Covid levels, rising to 1 million barrels per day (mb/d) above where it stood in 2019. However, this is largely being driven by petrochemical demand and is especially concentrated in China. In 2023, demand for petrochemical feedstocks such as naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ethane in the country will average 1.7 mb/d more than in 2019. Were it not for the sector’s rapid growth, total oil consumption would remain comfortably short of the pre-pandemic mark.

As China’s petrochemical sector expands, demand for feedstocks derived from oil is shifting to the country from other longstanding petrochemical centres. It is also significantly affecting global markets for the products made from petrochemicals, such as plastics, synthetic fibres and their intermediates.

China has long been the world’s largest polymer and synthetic fibre importer, accounting for the equivalent of almost 3 mb/d in feedstock terms, or 3 percent of global oil consumption, in 2019 and 2020. Now, its previous suppliers are under pressure after recent increases in Chinese production, in particular during 2023. Petrochemical activity and related oil demand fell in other regions, including the Middle East and the rest of Asia. Shipments of intermediate and final petrochemical products declined by almost 30 percent from these parts of the world during the first nine months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2019.

Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Aranka Sinnema)

European petrochemical producers are not themselves major exporters to East Asia, but the reorganisation of trade has severely impacted the region. Operating rates appear to be unsustainably low, with many plants struggling to break even. Deliveries of naphtha, transformed into ethylene and propylene by European steam crackers, have fallen by almost 30 percent since 2021 to levels not seen since the mid-1970s.

Shipments of intermediate and finished petrochemical products to Europe from the Middle East and East Asia, excluding China, have risen slightly – but, in part due to weak local demand for plastics, Europe does not appear able to absorb the additional supply. Production across all these regions has slowed, although declines in Europe have been the largest.

In striking contrast, US producers have substantially increased exports of petrochemical feedstocks, intermediates and polymers. This includes flows to both China and Europe from the expanded American steam cracker fleet, which has been another increasingly disruptive force in global markets. Soaring domestic availability of ethane and propane, the most important US feedstocks, has outpaced increases in consumption, keeping processing margins strong and supporting rising exports. Ethane used in US plants now accounts for more than 2 percent of global oil demand, doubling over the past decade.

The advantages of this burgeoning feedstock supply have helped US producers expand their global market share. Huge volumes of US ethane and propane have poured into China since the pandemic, approaching three-quarters of the nation’s imports of these products and meeting more than one-third of the increase in China’s overall feedstock demand compared with 2019.

This trend is mirrored in US exporters’ growing dependence on China’s appetite for ethane and propane. More than three-quarters of the 2019‑23 increase in these shipments has gone to China. This symbiosis between the largest global source of demand growth – China – and the largest global source of supply growth – the United States – has enabled the petrochemical sectors in both countries to flourish in a way that would not otherwise have been possible.

Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Waldemar Brandt)

The magnitude of the surge in petrochemical activity risks masking major shifts in global oil markets that have already begun to take hold. These structural changes have brought a peak in global oil demand into view this decade, according to analysis in the IEA’s medium-term Oil 2023 report and the latest World Energy Outlook.

One consequence of the growing role of petrochemicals is that carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from oil will likely peak before overall demand. Petrochemical products are not primarily used as fuels, which means they are not a large source of direct emissions, though they can result in other environmental problems.

Despite marked growth in the world’s economy and population, global oil demand excluding petrochemical feedstocks remains lower than in 2019 and has grown little since 2017. Personal mobility and industrial activity now exceed pre-pandemic levels, but this is outweighed by strong improvements in the energy efficiency of engines, surging sales of electric vehicles and behavioural changes like more widespread teleworking.

IEA projections show that global road fuel use is set to decline from 2025. Total oil consumption by advanced economies is already nearly 10 percent below 2007 levels and shows no sign of recovering, even to its 2019 mark. Oil use is also expected to plateau before 2030 in China, long the driving force of rising global demand, with economic growth slowing and becoming less reliant on infrastructure and heavy industry.

These changes are set to bring an overall peak in global oil demand this decade despite growing demand for petrochemicals – which, while substantial, is not expected to alter the broader direction of travel.

Source: IEA

The EU built a record 17 GW of new wind energy in 2023 – wind now 19 per cent of electricity production

15.01.2024

vetroelektrane-vetar — Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Appolinary Kalashnikova)

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Grahame Jenkins)

According to WindEurope data, the EU built 17 GW of new wind farms in 2023: 14 GW onshore; 3 GW offshore. These numbers are slightly up on 2022 and are the most the EU has ever built in a single year. But it’s well below the 30 GW a year that the EU needs to build to meet its new 2030 climate and energy security targets.

Germany built the most new wind capacity followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. The Netherlands built the most new offshore wind, including the 1.5 GW “Hollandse Kust Zuid” – for now the world’s largest wind farm.

The IEA estimates that Europe will build 23 GW a year of new wind over 2024-28. The actions set out in the EU Wind Power Package should deliver a significant increase in the annual build-out – and strengthen Europe’s wind energy supply chain. National implementation of the actions is key.

To that end the commitment to deliver the Wind Power Package that 26 EU Energy Ministers signed before Christmas in the European Wind Charter was key. Crucial actions include the further simplification of permitting, improvements in the design of the auctions to build new wind farms and public financial support for wind turbine manufacturing and key infrastructure.

Wind was 19 per cent of the electricity produced in the EU last year. Hydro was 13 per cent, solar eight per cent and biomass three per cent. Renewables in total amounted to 44 per cent of electricity produced.

The amount of electricity produced from 1 GW of wind continued to grow. The “capacity factor” of new onshore wind farms now ranges from 30-48 per cent, and new offshore wind is consistently 50 per cent. The capacity factor measures how much output you get from a unit of capacity – it varies between different renewable technologies.

Source: WindEurope

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION FOR THE TRANSITION TO CIRCULAR SOLUTIONS

14.01.2024

danist-soh-8Gg2Ne_uTcM-unsplash — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (danist-soh)

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS) has carried out numerous activities related to the green transformation of the Serbian economy. First and foremost, the focus is on training and education of company representatives in the areas related to circular economy, carbon accounting, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), industrial symbiosis, decarbonization, as well as energy efficiency, industrial waste treatment and green construction. The 10-point Declaration on the Green Transformation of the Serbian Economy – a strategic document whose goal is to encourage and support companies in the process of transitioning to a circular business model while maintaining competitiveness and efficiency – was written exclusively by the Chamber’s staff. It is also available online at https://api.pks.rs/storage/assets/Deklaracija,%20final%20 3.12.2022.%201.pdf

The first regional Circular Economy of the Western Balkans Summit and visits to companies in Serbia were organized in June to encourage the transition to new business models. Various activities will continue because awareness in companies about the importance and comprehensiveness of changes in this area has increased, but it is still at an insufficient level.

Radman Šelmić, green and circular economy adviser to the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS), spoke with Energy Portal Magazine about the obligations that exporters will have to fulfil come next year, training and education in the Chamber of Commerce, various support programs, as well as the best practices from the European Union that we can apply to speed up green transformation.

IN FOCUS:

Q: For years, the Chamber has been holding training sessions related to circular economy. What area are you focusing on now? What topics are companies most interested in and how many have completed the training?

Photo-illustration: Pexels (macro-photography)

A: In the last few years, we have organized training and educational sessions related to the circular economy through various programs. In the beginning, these were general training sessions to familiarize company representatives with the concept of the circular economy, understand the necessity of changing business processes and models and recognize the possibilities for concrete application. We are now focused on designing and implementing more advanced and concrete circular economy education programs specific to individual industries, such as construction or food. Hundreds of company representatives completed the training, and, in this way, we have significantly contributed to the faster implementation of the circular economy in Serbia with the concrete transfer of knowledge. The training changed its format to fit companies’ needs and the market’s digitalization. Regardless of the format, the participants learned about using circular economy tools (waste management, eco-design, product life cycle, recycling, domestic and EU legislation, etc.) over several weeks of training. Special training sessions are now being held for all these areas.

Q: Could you rate the dynamics of applying new knowledge related to the circular economy in practice and how it can be improved? What have companies proposed to improve the transformation of the green transition in the coming period?

A: In the last year, there has been a noticeable shift in the ever-growing awareness of companies about the importance and necessity of implementing concrete solutions in this domain.

However, this is still far from satisfactory. We could group the most significant challenges into four segments: the first is insufficient technological and economic knowledge in companies that could accelerate the transition to circular solutions, the second is legal regulations that do not favor the status of by-products in specific industries and ending the status of waste, which is a necessary prerequisite for industrial symbiosis between the two companies, and the third is difficult access to bank funding for investments or insufficient subsidies. The fourth is the constricted knowledge of domestic experts in this area.

Q: What are the plans of the Chamber’s Circular Economy Centre to prepare the Serbian economy for a comprehensive green transition?

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (alexander-schimmeck)

A: We want our circular economy platform to be a central hub for industrial symbiosis in Serbia. Thanks to a pilot project, we have already listed all types of industrial waste in the Pirot industrial zone, under the auspices of cooperation with the Ministry of Economy. This is an important first step.

We are planning soon to implement the next stages of education for specific industries in the domain of the circular economy, as well as for areas such as carbon accounting, energy efficiency, decarbonization of business processes and others. Together with our colleagues from the Chamber’s Green Team, we are planning to visit the regional chambers and in direct contact with companies, convey messages about the necessity and importance of the circular economy.

Q: Could you tell us about the implementation of a three-year support program for the development of the circular economy, which was launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of Serbia? What is the CCIS’ role in this?

A: The Circular Economy Development Support Programme (2021– 2023) is part of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Industrial Policy Strategy of the Republic of Serbia from 2021 to 2030, in which the CCIS is listed as an implementation unit of the Ministry of Economy. The Strategy’s overall goal is to boost the competitiveness of the Serbian industry. Five specific goals should be accomplished in six intervention areas – human resources empowerment, digitalization, innovation, investments, international dimension and circular economy. The concrete measure titled ‘Promoting the Circular Economy and Educating Business Entities’ is entrusted to the CCIS.

Q: What activities are envisaged in the program and how much should the program contribute to expediting the development of the circular economy?

A: The program was implemented at the right and very delicate time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic put the green transformation in stand-by mode, yet we, who operate in that segment, knew that the transition would not stop. On the contrary, as soon as the pandemic subsided and in parallel with the global energy and economic crisis, issues stemming from the green agenda gained momentum in the EU and the USA. The initial goal of the activities carried out by the Chamber was to define the position of the term circular economy in Serbia and present the circular economy tools to as many businesses as possible. The initial position was that 60 per cent of the respondents identified the circular economy as recycling, which practically meant that we were starting from a very modest amount of general knowledge and information because recycling is the last stop of the circular economy if we exclude the waste-to-energy processes (energy consumption) from circularity. We have successfully implemented training sessions covering general knowledge about circular economy tools, non-financial accounting, by-products and end-of-waste status, wastewater management and the CBAM. We have published guides on circularity in agriculture, concrete waste management and reuse, chemical management in the circular economy, etc. Our focus in the last year has been on industrial symbiosis. Circularity’s essence is the circulation of raw materials, whether they are defined as by-products or as the end-of-waste status. We have expedited processes and procedures and are removing waste or raw materials from the waste circulation administration.

Interviewed by: Mirjana Vujadinović Tomevski

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine CIRCULAR ECONOMY

OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATION IN SERBIA REGARDING THE TRANSITION TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

13.01.2024

antoine-giret-7_TSzqJms4w-unsplash — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (antoine-giret)

Numerous analyses of various social aspects point to the fact that the coming decades will bring us an increase in the demand for resources. Considering the exploitation of natural resources that are not unlimited, the need for a different approach becomes a prerequisite for the sustainable survival of the planet and its inhabitants. Data show that in the next 40 years, the global consumption of materials such as biomass, fossil fuels, minerals, and metals could double. By increasing their use, waste also grows due to this approach. It is also predicted that the quantity of generated waste could increase by 70 per cent by 2050.

The human relationship with the environment, in general, is reduced to collecting benefits from it, not considering the needs of other inhabitants of the planet today and even less providing a future perspective.

A prerequisite for a sustainable future

During the life of the human species so far, the attitude towards what nature offers has been reduced to the principle of take-use-throw away. Although early civilizations did not contribute to the degradation of the environment in the way that humans do today, they laid the foundation for the treatment humans have been using in recent centuries. It is the so-called linear economic model, which needs to be eliminated if we want to make life on the planet sustainable for future generations.

The law of nature says that everything is connected, pointing to the fact that the problem of excessive consumption of resources does not only mean their depletion. Closely related problems are the world, which has seen the degradation of biodiversity and acceleration of climate changes, poverty, hunger, injustice, unrest among people and others. Considering the aforementioned, the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda were adopted at the UN summit in September 2015 and officially into force on January 1, 2016. Seventeen goals are interconnected in a cause-and-effect relationship.

IN FOCUS:

Although none of the goals specifically refers to the circular economy, its essence is particularly incorporated into goal 12 – responsible consumption and production. This goal promotes the need for sustainable and efficient use of natural resources, proper management of chemicals, significant reduction of waste generation and its processing and sustainable public procurement.

In addition to this goal, six more should be highlighted that are also directly related to the implementation of the circular economy – goal 7 – affordable and renewable energy; goal 8 – decent work and economic growth; goal 11 – sustainable cities and communities; goal 13 – climate action; goal 14 – life below water; and goal 15 – life on land.

As a new economic model that should replace the linear one, the circular economy rests on the principle of maximum reuse of materials from products at the end of their life cycle, with as little use of new resources as possible, as the main source of economic growth. This model strives to recover all waste material in the process of new production as soon as resources are used sustainably and efficiently, reduces the negative impact on the environment, also generates financial savings and new business opportunities – waste from one industry becomes raw material for another, i.e. waste does not exist.

The circular economy views products differently, taking into account how they are designed, how recyclable they are, the way they are produced and what impact they have on nature.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Christian Wiediger)

Speaking of the circular economy and our country, the establishment of a strategic framework began in 2019, when an ex-ante analysis of the effects of the circular economy was drafted, which showed that a separate public policy document is needed covering the circular economy.

Following the results of the analysis mentioned above and based on the Republic of Serbia’s Planning System, the Ministry of Environmental Protection initiated the development of the Circular Economy Development Programme in Serbia, covering the period from 2022 to 2024. The overall goal of this document is to create a stimulating environment for the development of the circular economy to support the green transition in the Republic of Serbia. To accomplish this overall goal, five individual goals are set, as are measures and activities that will be implemented from 2022 to 2024.

Individual goals are as follows:

1. supporting the economy in the transformation to a circular business model

2. supporting local governments in creating circular communities

3. improving the waste management system through more efficient use of waste in the circular economy

4. supporting the implementation of green public procurement and voluntary instruments related to environmental protection

5. raising the awareness of the public and educational institutions about the concept of circular economy.

A SWOT analysis was used in developing this Programme to understand the current situation better and identify further planned activities. Among other things, this analysis determined weaknesses in our country regarding the circular economy. Waste management was identified as the main weak point in the entire system, considering the inadequate application of regulations, the poor condition of communal infrastructure, the small percentage of primary waste selection, the absence of penalties and education of the population and others. Specific problems are listed in more than 30 points and include an underdeveloped circular model of single-use plastic product management and the use of more sustainable materials, low utilization of residues from the production process and inadequate exchange of information about their possible utilization among companies, as well as the lack of an adequate system for the reuse and recycling of non-hazardous construction waste, the lack of suitable waste management operators in the market, the impossibility of delivering waste in small quantities and others.

Prepared by: Katarina Vuinac

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine CIRCULAR ECONOMY

ABB acquires Sevensense, expanding leadership in next-generation AI-enabled mobile robotics

12.01.2024

ABB today announced that it has acquired Swiss start-up Sevensense, a leading provider of AI-enabled 3D vision navigation technology for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Sevensense was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Swiss technical University, ETH Zurich.

“This marks a significant step towards our vision of a workplace where AI-enabled robots assist people, addressing our customers’ needs for greater flexibility and intelligence amidst critical skilled labor shortages,” said Sami Atiya, President of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation. “Each mobile robot, equipped with vision and AI, scans a unique part of the building; collectively these robots complement each other’s view to form a complete map, enabling them to work autonomously in a rapidly changing environment.”

The acquisition follows ABB’s minority investment in Sevensense after it joined the company’s innovation ecosystem in 2021, the same year ABB acquired ASTI Mobile Robotics. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Following pilot customer projects in the automotive and logistics industries, ABB will integrate Sevensense’s technology into the company’s AMR portfolio, offering an unprecedented combination of speed, accuracy, and payload.

The market for mobile robots is expected to grow at 20 percent CAGR through 2026, from 5.5bn dollars to 9.5bn dollars and ABB’s AI-powered 3D vision technology is at the forefront of this growth.

Sevensense’s pioneering navigation technology combines AI and 3D vision, enabling AMRs to make intelligent decisions, differentiating between fixed and mobile objects in dynamic environments. Once manually guided, mobile robots with Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Visual SLAM) technology create a map that is used to operate independently, reducing commissioning time from weeks to days and enabling the AMRs to navigate in highly complex, dynamic environments alongside people. Maps are constantly updated and shared across the fleet, offering instant scalability without interrupting operations and greater flexibility compared to other navigation technologies.

Today, this AI-enabled navigation technology is already transforming the automotive manufacturing and logistics sectors, delivering value through faster and more efficient operations. For automotive manufacturer Ford, Visual SLAM enabled ABB AMR’s will create efficiency gains in production sites in the US, while Michelin will use the technology in intralogistics at its factory in Spain. Other automotive manufacturers will roll out the technology in the UK, Finland and Germany.

“Offering more autonomy and cognitive intelligence, ABB’s unique market-proven technology paves the way for a shift from linear production lines to dynamic networks. Intelligent AMRs autonomously navigate to production cells, tracking stock inventory as they go and sharing this information with other robots, while collaborating safely side-by-side with humans,” said Marc Segura, President of ABB’s Robotics Division. “With the acquisition of Sevensense, ABB becomes the leader in next-generation AMRs, offering Visual SLAM in Autonomous Mobile Robots, together with an integrated portfolio covering robots and machine automation solutions, all managed by our value-creating software.”

Gregory Hitz, CEO of Sevensense, said: “This is a significant moment in our shared journey, as we introduce our home-grown technology to a wider range of markets and sectors. ABB is the ideal home for us to continue scaling our versatile platform for 3D visual autonomy, serving OEMs across the automated material handling and service robotics industries. Together, we will redefine the limits of AI-enabled robotics.”

This revolutionary technology has the potential to impact robotics far beyond AMRs, leading to greater efficiency, flexibility and accuracy throughout production and intralogistics. The technology will also continue to be sold across segments including material handling, cleaning and other service robotics fields under the product name Sevensense.

The Sevensense partnership highlights the success of ABB’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of innovations. Through its partner ecosystem and collaboration with start-ups and universities, ABB develops leading technology for the benefit of global businesses. Sevensense’s approximately 35 employees will continue to be based at its Swiss office in Zurich.

Source: ABB

Massive expansion of renewable power opens door to achieving global tripling goal set at COP28

12.01.2024

solar — Photo-illustration: Pixabay (Michael_Pointner)

Photo-illustration: Pixabay (SailingOnChocolateRoses)

The world’s capacity to generate renewable electricity is expanding faster than at any time in the last three decades, giving it a real chance of achieving the goal of tripling global capacity by 2030 that governments set at the COP28 climate change conference last month, the IEA says in a new report.

The amount of renewable energy capacity added to energy systems around the world grew by 50 per cent in 2023, reaching almost 510 gigawatts (GW), with solar PV accounting for three-quarters of additions worldwide, according to Renewables 2023, the latest edition of the IEA’s annual market report on the sector. The largest growth took place in China, which commissioned as much solar PV in 2023 as the entire world did in 2022, while China’s wind power additions rose by 66 per cent year-on-year. The increases in renewable energy capacity in Europe, the United States and Brazil also hit all-time highs.

The latest analysis is the first comprehensive assessment of global renewable energy deployment trends since the conclusion of the COP28 conference in Dubai in December. The report shows that under existing policies and market conditions, global renewable power capacity is now expected to grow to 7.300 GW over the 2023-28 period covered by the forecast. Solar PV and wind account for 95 per cent of the expansion, with renewables overtaking coal to become the largest source of global electricity generation by early 2025. But despite the unprecedented growth over the past 12 months, the world needs to go further to triple capacity by 2030, which countries agreed to do at COP28.

Alongside the report, the IEA also released a new Renewable Energy Progress Tracker, which allows users to explore historical data and forecasts at the regional and country level, including tracking progress towards the tripling goal.

“The new IEA report shows that under current policies and market conditions, global renewable capacity is already on course to increase by two-and-a-half times by 2030. It’s not enough yet to reach the COP28 goal of tripling renewables, but we’re moving closer – and governments have the tools needed to close the gap,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Onshore wind and solar PV are cheaper today than new fossil fuel plants almost everywhere and cheaper than existing fossil fuel plants in most countries. There are still some big hurdles to overcome, including the difficult global macroeconomic environment. For me, the most important challenge for the international community is rapidly scaling up financing and deployment of renewables in most emerging and developing economies, many of which are being left behind in the new energy economy. Success in meeting the tripling goal will hinge on this.”

“This report is the first key instalment of the IEA’s follow-up work on the energy outcomes of COP28 that will continue throughout 2024 and beyond,” Dr Birol said. “This is based on the five key pillars we set out ahead of COP28 and covers tripling renewables, doubling energy efficiency, cutting methane emissions, transitioning away from fossil fuels, and scaling up financing for emerging and developing economies. We will be following very closely to see whether countries are delivering on their promises and implementing appropriate policies.”

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Asia Chang Yr)

What is needed to triple renewables by 2030 varies significantly by country, region and technology. The report lays out an accelerated case in which more rapid policy implementation drives renewable power capacity growth 21 per cent higher than in the main forecast, which would push the world towards being on track to meet the global tripling pledge.

In advanced and large emerging economies, this would mean addressing challenges such as policy uncertainty in a fragile economic environment, insufficient investment in grid infrastructure to accommodate greater shares of renewables, and cumbersome administrative barriers and permitting delays. In other emerging and developing economies, access to finance, strong governance and robust regulatory frameworks are essential to reduce risk and attract investment, including establishing new targets and policies in countries where they do not exist yet.

Solar PV and onshore wind deployment through 2028 is expected to more than double in the United States, the European Union, India and Brazil, compared with the last five years. Prices for solar PV modules in 2023 declined by almost 50 per cent year-on-year, with cost reductions and fast deployment set to continue. This is because global manufacturing capacity is forecast to reach 1.100 GW by the end of 2024, significantly exceeding demand. By contrast, the wind industry (outside of China) is facing a more challenging environment due to a combination of ongoing supply chain disruption, higher costs and long permitting timelines, which require stronger policy attention.

The report also provides a reality check on the momentum behind renewable-based hydrogen, assessing how many announced projects are likely to go ahead. Of all the projects announced worldwide to use renewables to produce hydrogen this decade, only seven per cent of the proposed capacity is expected to come online by 2030. The slow pace of projects reaching an investment decision combined with limited appetite from off-takers and higher production costs have led to slower progress on many projects. To fully convince investors, ambitious project announcements will have to be followed by consistent policies supporting demand.

In 2023, the role of biofuels has also come to the fore. Emerging economies, led by Brazil and India, are expected to drive 70 per cent of global demand over the next five years as biofuels start to show their true potential in hard-to-abate sectors such as air travel and as a replacement for highly polluting fuels like diesel. While biofuels deployment is accelerating, the report shows that this is not happening quickly enough, with a significant increase required in demand by 2030 needed to align biofuels with a net zero pathway.

Source: IEA

Valencia kicks off 2024 as new European Green Capital

11.01.2024

jonny-james-M-J7gtp4m8c-unsplash — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (jonny-james)

The Spanish city of Valencia officially starts, today, as the European Green Capital 2024. To celebrate this achievement, over 400 activities and events are foreseen to reach all sectors of the city, from specialised audiences in sustainability, production, and business, to the residents of Valencia. The purpose is to raise awareness of the triple crisis of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change, and empower people to take action to address it.

Valencia’s motto is “On a Mission Together” and city authorities work with residents to reach their climate neutrality and environmental goals. With its strong emphasis on people, it effectively combines responses to environmental challenges with societal ones. This has made it a frontrunner in the transition to sustainability, and a source of inspiration for other European cities.

During a festive ceremony, Maria José Catalá, the Mayor of Valencia, will receive the Green Book from Tiit Terik, the Deputy Mayor of Tallinn, the 2023 European Green Capital.

The opening ceremony will be followed by a concert in the cultural centre of Palau de la Música. On 12 January, the first EU Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities plaques will be awarded. Ten cities have been awarded the EU Mission Label in 2023, and five of these are Spanish cities, including Valencia. The EU Mission Label is an important milestone as it recognises the cities’ plans to achieve climate-neutrality by 2030 and aims to facilitate access to public and private funding to achieve that objective.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (travelnow-or-crylater)

The European Commission launched the European Green Capital Award in 2010 to encourage cities to become greener and cleaner, and to improve the quality of life for their inhabitants. Around 75 percent of Europe’s population lives in cities and urban areas. Many cities play a leading role in managing the societal changes needed in the protection of the environment. They are key players for the implementation of the European Green Deal locally.

The European Green Capital Award is bestowed to cities above 100,000 inhabitants. Since 2010, the European Commission awarded the title to: Vilnius (2025), Valencia (2024), Tallinn (2023), Grenoble (2022), Lahti (2021), Lisbon (2020), Oslo (2019), Nijmegen (2018), Essen (2017), Ljubljana (2016), Bristol (2015), Copenhagen (2014), Nantes (2013), Vitoria-Gasteiz (2012), Hamburg (2011) and Stockholm (2010).

In 2015, the European Green Leaf title was introduced for smaller cities starting from 20,000 and below 100,000 inhabitants, with seventeen Green Leaf winners so far. The 2024 titles went to the Slovenian city, Velenje, and Treviso in Italy. The Commission encourages the winners to work together and use their title year to build alliances.

Source: European Commission

iO Partners welcomes Charles Boudet as Group CEO

11.01.2024

zgrada — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Sean Pollock)

iO Partners proudly announces the appointment of Charles Boudet as Group CEO.

With this appointment, iO Partners wishes to further accelerate growth and contribute to the transformation of the real estate sector.

Charles Boudet, an industry veteran with a diverse background, brings a wealth of experience from inside and outside the Real Estate industry to his role as Group CEO.

Before joining JLL in 2006, Charles served as Supply Chain Director at the global food company Danone.

Charles Boudet then had a distinguished 18-year career with JLL. After taking on various leadership roles, Charles became CEO France, Belux, South and Central Europe in 2015. Under his leadership, JLL doubled its revenues and engaged in transforming the way it operates by integrating data and technology at the heart of its services.

Charles’ tech savviness and people orientation aligns perfectly with iO Partners’ vision of leveraging innovation to excel in the consultancy landscape.

Charles Boudet expressed his enthusiasm for the entrepreneurial environment at iO Partners, emphasizing the development potential: “I am excited to be part of iO Partners and to contribute to its growth journey. My aim is to make the most of the innovation opportunities that lie ahead and draw from my previous experiences to position iO at the forefront of top-tier consultancy. I believe in the power of people, collaboration and technology to help us reach ambitious goals.”

Michael Stanton, Founder of iO Partners, declared: “Attracting a leader of Charles’s caliber speaks volumes about the future trajectory of our company. It’s a testament to the confidence in iO Partners, but also an acknowledgment of the opportunities that await. I’m confident that Charles’s wealth of experience, combined with our entrepreneurial spirit, will play a significant role in our continued success and development.”

iO Partners looks forward to a successful partnership under the leadership of Charles Boudet and is ready to embark on a journey of excellence in the CEE real estate consultancy market.

About iO Partners:

iO Partners (IOP) is a real estate services company headquartered in Vienna, providing a full suite of services in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia, comprising Agency, Leasing, Capital Markets, Valuation, Project and Development Services and Advisory. With a commanding presence in the Industrial and Office sectors, and the leading valuation team in the region, the company has offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Prague and Vienna. iO Partners is a JLL preferred partner in Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. For further information, visit iopartners.com.

Source: iO Partners

Once enough to stain shirt collars, smog is lifting over greater Seoul

10.01.2024

air-pollution-vazduh-zagađenje — Photo-illustration: Pixabay (Maruf_Rahman)

Cho Jang-hun remembers a time in the 1990s when it was almost impossible to escape the dirty air from exhaust fumes, coal-fired power plants and massive industrial projects that hung over his home in Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea.

The smog used to be so bad that the collars of the white shirt that Cho wore in the morning were black with soot by the evening.

But in recent years, the 47-year-old schoolteacher has noticed a marked reduction in the air pollution that once plagued Gyeonggi, which, together with Seoul and Incheon, forms the Seoul metropolitan region.

“The air is much healthier, and the skies are clear,” he said.

Data published in a recent UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report on air quality in the metropolis bears this out. It found that concentrations of the most damaging air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM), far exceeded national standards and World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines in 2005 but fell significantly by 2020.

When inhaled, particulate matter—tiny, invisible airborne particles—can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing heart disease, stroke and respiratory issues.

The report found that annual average concentrations of particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometers (PM10) were 30–40 per cent lower in 2021 compared to 2005. Across the Republic of Korea, emissions of PM2.5 fell by 19 per cent between 2005 and 2020, with even greater reductions in Seoul and Gyeonggi.

The improvement in Seoul’s air quality is the culmination of decades of work by the government of the Republic of Korea to tackle air pollution, which claims almost seven million lives globally every year. Its approach is seen as a success story in the Asia-Pacific region where 92 per cent of the population – some four billion people – are breathing unhealthy air with the risk of damage to the heart, lungs and brain.

A recipe for cleaner air

The Seoul metropolitan region is home to 26 million people, around half the population of the Republic of Korea.

The region, a key driver of the country’s economy, was responsible for 48 per cent of national gross domestic product in 2016, according to the World Bank. However, much of the economic activity that makes it such a powerhouse has led to increased transport, industry, waste and electricity production, which often contribute to higher air pollution.

Photo-illustration: Freepik (frimufilms)

Over the past couple of decades, the government has responded by creating a robust legal framework to manage air quality in the Seoul metropolitan region. It has also made long-term air quality data publicly available and invested heavily in air quality management systems, among other key measures.

The air quality regulatory framework in the Republic of Korea consists of multiple levels of planning and policy making. A governing act serves as an overarching framework at the national level. Meanwhile, distinct plans outline how the act will be implemented at the national and local levels.

“The air quality legislation provides a strong foundation for action to combat air pollution in the Seoul metropolitan region,” said Mushtaq Memon, UNEP Coordinator of Chemicals and Pollution Action for Asia and the Pacific. “It has been particularly effective because it identifies the roles and responsibilities of different organizations at national and sub-national levels. This has created clarity as to who is responsible for implementing different components of air quality management.”

To assess compliance with the legal framework, hundreds of monitoring sites providing data on air pollution were set up across the Seoul metropolitan region and elsewhere in the Republic of Korea. The data is publicly available via a real-time air quality information website, which allows researchers to identify trends and provides information on which government agencies can act.

Substantial investment has been critical to improved air quality. Between 2007 and 2020, the Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi governments invested nine US dollars billion on air quality management, with 56 per cent of the funding focused on measures to reduce emissions from the transport sector. Some 3.2 billion US dollars was also devoted to evidence generation and public engagement on air quality.

In addition, governments in the Seoul metropolitan region have introduced a number of policies to address air pollution in recent years. These include the mandatory installation of eco-friendly boilers in households, restrictions on driving pollutant-emitting vehicles, and the greening of public transport fleets.

The resulting cleaner air has brought positive results for human health. Between 2006 and 2015, the number of premature deaths associated with air pollution exposure was estimated to have fallen substantially in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi, found one study.

A need to jointly address air pollution and climate change

Improving air quality is key to tackling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Not only does air pollution reduce the world’s biodiversity, it is also a key factor in the destabilization of the global climate.

Despite the Seoul metropolitan region’s progress on air quality, the release of planet-warming carbon dioxide remains a persistent problem.

UNEP and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition have identified 25 science-based solutions to deliver wins for climate and pollution in the Asia-Pacific region. These include switching from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency in transport and industry. The Republic of Korea has recognized that these measures will be key to the country achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Governments in the Seoul metropolitan region are already embracing this new direction.

“While past research focused primarily on air quality improvement, current studies aim to achieve both health benefits and energy transitions through carbon neutrality,” said Cho Kyung-doo, Director General of the Incheon Carbon Neutrality Center. “Sustained investment to address climate change and improve air quality simultaneously will be pivotal going forward.”

Integrating the pollution and climate agendas is a crucial opportunity to benefit human and planetary health in cities and regions worldwide.

Suh Jeom-sook, Team Leader of the Air Quality Policy Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, believes the region’s success can inspire others.

“We have seen what is possible with the right policies and dedicated efforts from actors across the Seoul metropolitan region and are excited about the work ahead to further improve the air we share,” she said. “We hope that our experiences can serve as a positive example for governments in Asia-Pacific and around the globe in the push for clean air for blue skies.”

To fight the pervasive impact of pollution on society, UNEP launched #BeatPollution, a strategy for rapid, large-scale and coordinated action against air, land and water pollution. The strategy highlights the impact of pollution on climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and human health. Through science-based messaging, the campaign showcases how transitioning to a pollution-free planet is vital for future generations.

Source: UNEP

GREEN CITY DEVELOPMENT – A NEW APPROACH TO URBAN PLANNING AND SAVINGS

10.01.2024

The City of Banja Luka’s Development Strategy stipulates priority activities that reflect the local government’s aspirations to make Banja Luka an ecologically sustainable, communally well-equipped, energy-efficient and safe environment, i.e. for Banja Luka to transform into a Green City. This concept implies creating more urban green areas, parks, and recreational zones, regulating the banks of the Vrbas River and its tributaries and managing natural resources responsibly and creatively. The Strategy’s draft also considers aesthetic and functional aspects, focusing on environmental protection. The local government is investing a lot of effort into creating inspiring, top-quality amenities in public spaces to enable better interaction, engagement, and health care for residents. In other words, making residents feel as good as possible in the environment they live in, says Draško Stanivuković, mayor of Banja Luka.

“Accomplishing all the goals outlined in the green city concept would contribute to its better-integrated development, better quality of communal services, energy savings and more attractive appearance. Banja Luka’s goal is to be a good example of a town with an innovative, smart, and sustainable utility and traffic infrastructure supported by an efficient land use system and increased resistance to climate change and other natural disasters. With a healthy and dynamic environment, the green and blue infrastructure network will protect and improve water resources, soil quality and biodiversity, but also maintain Banja Luka’s reputation as a green city.”

Q: What are the most favorable models for financing projects aimed at boosting energy efficiency? How much did you invest in such projects, and what results have you accomplished?

A: Banja Luka aspires to be an energy efficiency leader in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the application of modern financing models. We launched several projects in this area and invested significant funds. Among the more significant projects is the public lighting managing and monitoring system, which has been implemented at more than 480 measuring points. In several stages, about 5,000 old light fixtures were replaced with LED ones, with a total value of about 563,000 euros (1,100,000 KM) and the project was implemented in cooperation with the UNDP. The city government will continue carrying out activities on the modernization of the public lighting system to reduce electricity consumption. Considering that there are about 30,000 light fixtures in Banja Luka, of which about 25,000 are old, that use high-pressure sodium, metal-halide, and mercury sources, with these new state-of-the-art LED ones, we will manage to reduce energy consumption and the emission of harmful gases. But first, we need to carry out energy-saving renovation, which includes the renovation of the infrastructure and the replacement of more energy-efficient lamps, as well as the application of light intensity regulation measures, which will achieve significant savings.

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Thanks to the existing system, the city authorities allocate about 1,250,000 euros annually to maintain public lighting and electricity costs. With the increase in the price of electricity, these costs amount to approximately 1,800,000 euros. By replacing all lighting fixtures with more energy-efficient ones, electricity consumption could be reduced by more than 65 per cent, and total costs would be reduced by around 500,000 euros.

Furthermore, with the construction of the Banja Luka eco-heating plant, which uses biomass instead of fuel oil for district heating, we have started drafting the Feasibility Study on the modernization of the district heating system and the implementation of renewable energy sources, which the European Bank is carrying out for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). We plan to carry out the automation of substations in the district heating system, reconstruct the existing grid, and construct a new one. Individual investment activities will be implemented by the Banja Luka eco-heating plant and then via contracts with investors. Plus, several school and preschool facilities were renovated in the past period, too.

Q: How much do you invest in boosting the energy efficiency of residential buildings?

A: Under the auspices of the Decarbonization in the Housing Sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina project, which is financed by Sweden and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the Banja Luka government, we have started drafting the Energy Efficiency Study of the entire housing sector. The Study’s goal is to provide key tools that will enable the development and establishment of efficient and effective policies and financing mechanisms that will promote significant growth in investments in boosting the energy efficiency of the housing sector. The main goal is to develop an energy efficiency study of the entire residential sector in the city, based on a sample of 400 individual houses and 30 residential buildings.

For several years, the city authorities have been co-financing works on rehabilitating the facades of residential buildings, with the expected reduction of energy consumption in the amount of at least 30 per cent. So far, the facades of eight collective housing buildings have been successfully restored, and following a new public call for submission of bids, the plan is to restore 12 more buildings in the city. The total value of the investment amounts to slightly over 511,291 euros, of which the city authorities have allocated more than 255,000 euros.

Q: What priority projects that contribute to enhancing environmental protection have you been implementing?

A: Banja Luka is one of the leading local self-governments in environmental protection in the Republic of Srpska, according to the auditor general. Following the relevant regulations, we regularly draft all planning documents and implement them in accordance with the available budget. We monitor air pollution and noise. We have an organized waste collection system, which covers as much as 95 per cent of the total city territory (urban and rural parts). Every year, we implement the Clean Face of the City campaign, during which citizens can dispose of bulky waste at the expense of the local authorities. We are especially proud that we have cleaned watercourses of waste and that our citizens are increasingly developing awareness and throwing less waste into riverbeds and streams. The city government also supported the Spatial Healing project to prevent the creation of illegal landfills by erecting artistic sculptures and developing green areas instead. Sculptures and ornamental plants were put in several locations in the city area in place of unregulated landfills.

The plan is also to build three recycling facilities in the city area, which aim to reduce the amount of waste deposited at the regional landfill and increase the opportunity for recycling. Recycling is one of the projects we will deal with more in the coming period. Furthermore, thanks to the construction of a large city park, green oases, children’s playgrounds, river promenades and outdoor gyms, which are all aesthetic and functional contributions to the city, we are also striving to do what we can to protect and improve the environment and space.

The drafting of the Wastewater and Solid Waste Management Study, financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), is also underway, and the study should have been completed by May 2024. We are also planning to launch a tender for the rehabilitation and expansion of the regional landfill in Ramići.

Interviewed by: Mirjana Vujadinović Tomevski

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine CIRCULAR ECONOMY.

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