What Role Can Young People Play in Tackling the Climate Crisis?

20.09.2022

climate_strike_klimatski_štrajk — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

The impacts of the climate crisis are already widespread: from increased floods, droughts and wildfires to more devastating storms and temperature extremes.

Scientists estimate the world is experiencing a global temperature increase of 1.1˚C over pre-industrial levels and if CO2 emissions are not reduced in line with the Paris Agreement, this could rise to 3˚C by 2100, with devastating consequences for humanity.

Given that the effects the climate crisis will intensify over time, young people stand to pay in full with their futures. But their unprecedented mobilization shows the power they possess to hold decision-makers accountable, say experts.

In the second episode of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) Uncommon Ground web series, host Juan Pablo Garcia is joined by two panellists, Shanik Aspe, a media personality from Mexico and Mitzi Jonelle Tan, an environmental activist from the Philippines. They talk about the difficulties the world faces in transitioning to renewable energy and the steps young people can take to get their elected representatives to take the climate crisis seriously.

They also examine how people can reduce their carbon footprint while looking at the structural issues related to how we grow our food, travel through our cities and the fashion we consume.

Both Aspe and Tan agree that education is vital, which is why UNEP was part of the Transforming Education Summit held in New York during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) from 16 to 19 September 2022. The event focused on the cross-sectoral nature of education and its power to contribute to confronting environmental challenges.

Source: UNEP

Power-sector Emissions are Set to Fall in 2022. – Thanks to Renewable Energy

19.09.2022

photovoltaic-system-solarni-paneli — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Sungrow Emea)

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered an unprecedented global energy crisis, the world has been turning to other sources of power, besides oil and gas, to meet demand.

Renewable energy has seen a promising uptick over the last few years, growing by more than 10 percent in 2022, according to the IEA, and this has led to a small reduction in global CO2 production from the electricity sector overall.

Last year, the world added a record 295 gigawatts of new renewable power capacity. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that 90 percent of the world’s electricity can come from renewable energy sources by 2050. The below chart shows which renewables are set to grow fastest over the coming years.

To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C, emissions need to be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, the UN states.

So how do we increase take-up of clean-energy technology in the race to achieve this?

According to IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol: “Cutting red tape, accelerating permitting and providing the right incentives for faster deployment of renewables are some of the most important actions governments can take to address today’s energy security and market challenges, while keeping alive the possibility of reaching our international climate goals.”

As well as helping the world to achieve sustainability targets, the declining cost of renewables is also a factor in their growth. In 2020, renewable energy was the world’s cheapest energy source. Global solar and wind costs have fallen during the last decade and onshore wind is also now 68 percent less expensive than 10 years ago, IRENA reports. Meanwhile, costs for electricity from utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) fell 85 percent. The chart below shows the scale of falling costs per kwh over this period.

To accelerate further, industrial decarbonization will require innovative technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels and green ammonia, among others.

The Financing the Transition to a Net-Zero Future initiative, a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and knowledge partner Oliver Wyman, was launched in June 2020 to accelerate the mobilization of capital towards these breakthrough technologies.

While IRENA points out cheaper renewables and new technologies give developed and developing countries an opportunity to phase out coal, 2022 has seen its use rise due to the war in Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis.

Coal production currently causes about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the IEA. The Financial Times reports average daily consumption at coal-fired power stations in China was 15 percent higher than a year ago, in the first two weeks of August, at 8.16mn tonnes.

Some European countries have also delayed coal phase-out plans, due to supply issues following the war in Ukraine, and emissions are likely to increase by 3 percent in the region as a result, according to the IEA.

However, major economies like China and India, historically heavily reliant on coal, have increased their solar energy capacity. This is thanks to large-scale projects like Bhadla Solar Park, in India, the largest solar farm in the world, and Huaneng Power International, in China, the largest floating PV project.

The IEA also reports that China will surpass Europe at the end of 2022 to become the market with the biggest total offshore wind capacity in the world.

Meanwhile, Europe has scaled up its rooftop solar installations. Earlier this year, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a mandate for rooftop solar on commercial and public buildings by 2027, and for residential buildings by 2029.

While the war in Ukraine is clearly complicating the green energy transition, “energy market developments in recent months – especially in Europe – have proven once again the essential role of renewables in improving energy security, in addition to their well-established effectiveness at reducing emissions,” says Birol.

Source: World Economic Forum

EU Lawmakers Vote to Include Maize, Meat Imports in Anti-Deforestation Rules

19.09.2022

kukuruz — Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Christophe Maertens)

The European Parliament has voted to extend the agricultural goods covered by the bloc’s new law against imports linked to deforestation to include maize, poultry and pig meat in a move hailed by campaigners, but criticised by industry representatives.

The proposal, initially presented by the European Commission in November last year, aims to ensure that products and commodities imported into the EU are ‘deforestation-free’ – that is, that they do not contribute to deforestation anywhere along the value chain.

The Parliament plenary adopted a compromise text tabled by centre-right rapporteur Christophe Hansen on Tuesday (13 September), which set out that the agricultural commodities and inputs covered by the law should be extended beyond those included in the Commission’s original proposal.

The original proposal included six commodities: palm oil, cocoa, coffee, beef, soy, and timber.

Among other things, the lawmakers want maize and palm oil derivates added to the list – both products which were left out of the initial proposal, despite the fact that an impact assessment conducted by the Commission had concluded their inclusion would help fight deforestation.

According to the assessment, maize “has an impact, but it is less important than the other six commodities that they have proposed,” Hansen explained during a press conference after the plenary vote.

However, their impact is still “non-negligible,” he added.

The inclusion of maize had been pushed for by the Green and Socialist party groups, but remained a contentious question due to the key importance of the product for the animal feed industry.

“If we want to tackle the EU’s deforestation footprint in a comprehensive way, these key deforestation drivers [maize and rubber] need to be included,” socialist MEP Delara Burkhardt told reporters ahead of the vote.

Warm words and warnings

The parliamentary vote was welcomed by many lawmakers as well as green campaigners.

“Today is a good day for the protection of international forests!” Green MEP Martin Häusling said in a statement, adding that, all in all, the parliament’s position turned out “very ambitious.”

Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, senior forest policy officer at WWF, said the Parliament voted “for a strong deforestation law” and called on the member states to follow suit.

However, industry representatives voiced concerns over the position.

In a joint statement, COCERAL, FEDIOL, and FEFAC, representing the EU grain and oilseed trade and animal feed industry, warned the parliament’s text “risks fuelling supply chain shortages and price inflation in the EU.”

The organisations called on the legislators to work with supply chain actors in order to better preempt practical problems that could arise during the implementation of the new legislation.

Source: EURACTIV.com

Greenpeace: Our transport system is fuelling the multiple crises we’re facing

18.09.2022

traffic-jam-saobraćaj-auto — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

With extreme heat, floods and fires, the highest inflation in decades, unprecedented energy price-hikes, a looming energy shortfall and a war on European soil, the world feels like it’s at a crossroads. We certainly need all hands on deck to confront the multiple crises we face together. In the midst of these chaotic times, there is one area in our society where all the threads come together: our transport system. It is one of the roots of our oil dependence, causing many of the problems we face.

Let’s take a closer look at how our mobility system connects to these crises and how we and our governments must use it to confront them.

Climate and nature crises

With record heat waves, massive droughts, floods and raging fires, this summer the damaging consequences and costs of the climate crisis have been more visible than ever before.

Our oil-guzzling transport system is a major driver of the climate crisis – accounting for almost 30 per cent of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions and 23 per cent of global emissions – with high costs for our health and well-being from air pollution and noise to our environment.

The direct exploitation of our natural resources, including the extraction of oil, is one of the biggest threats to our natural world. Transport is the main reason for oil extraction and production worldwide, with around 60 per cent of oil used for transport globally, and almost 70 per cent in the EU. The production of agro-fuels for cars, or the construction of new infrastructure for polluting transport like airports and highways further threatens wildlife habitats and forests.

Despite these grim impacts on our climate and nature, governments give transport and fossil fuel industries financial and policy privileges to help them make huge profits at the expense of people. Meanwhile, these companies are betting mainly on false solutions like carbon offsetting or ramping up the production of agro-fuels which are largely fuelling deforestation, biodiversity loss, environmental destruction and human rights abuses.

Source: Greenpeace

How do Countries Measure Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

18.09.2022

power-plant-zagađenje — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

With the 2022 Emissions Gap Report due to be released in October this year ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, the focus is on how fast countries can reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.

So, how do countries measure their emissions, and how are those measurements checked for accuracy? We took a deep dive to find out more:

What are greenhouse gas emissions and why are they important?

Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere – hence the ‘greenhouse’ name. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and the fluorinated gases still commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners. When greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, they trap heat which changes our climate in multiple ways.

These changes will affect everything from surface air and ocean temperatures to precipitation and sea acidification. A warmer climate brings a host of risks from increased drought and wildfires to rising sea levels and heat-related illnesses and deaths. If warming increases 2°C to 3°C by the end of the century, it is likely that there will be irreversible changes to our climate systems.

What causes these emissions?

While many greenhouse gases are naturally occurring, it is the increased emissions from human activities that are causing global warming. The main emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, for the energy that we rely on to heat (and cool) our homes, power our cars and buses, cook our food and make many of the products we take for granted.

Why do countries need to measure their greenhouse gas emissions?

As the saying goes, what doesn’t get measured doesn’t get managed. It is vital that countries understand where their emissions are coming from so they can reduce them. Under the Paris Agreement, countries collectively agreed to reduce their emissions, and each country submitted a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). NDCs are essentially national climate action plans that include different types of targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Some plans define how to reach specific targets by 2030, while others indicate a date their emissions will peak but don’t include specific emissions reduction targets.

The Paris Agreement has a strong focus on transparency so countries can monitor, verify and report on their NDC implementation progress, with the first national transparency reports due in 2024. In addition, the Paris Agreement includes provisions for countries to update their NDC every five years.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Daniel Moqvist)

However, during COP26 in Glasgow last year, countries agreed to speed up cuts in their emissions before 2030, with the aim of keeping the average global temperature rise to below 1.5°C. And while many countries submitted new or updated NDCs with slightly increased ambitions, these are still not enough to keep global warming at or under 1.5-degrees.

How do countries calculate their emissions?

Countries report their emissions through what is known as a ‘bottom up’ approach, where national emissions are estimated by combining data on types of activity with the emissions typically produced by those activities. So, if you know how much carbon dioxide steelmaking produces, and you know how much steel is produced in your country, you can estimate the total quantity of emissions from the steel sector.

Are those calculations accurate?

There are internationally agreed guidelines developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that specify how this kind of accountancy should be done.

Are emissions being cut quickly enough?

In short, the answer is no. As laid out in UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2021, new national climate pledges combined with other mitigation measures put the world on track for a global temperature rise of 2.7°C by the end of the century, which would lead to devastating consequences for the planet. All countries, but particularly those in the developed world, need to cut emissions faster.

What needs to happen now?

The Emissions Gap Report highlighted the fact that global emissions need to fall by 45 to 50 percent by 2030 in order to ensure temperatures don’t rise above 1.5°C by 2100. In short, the world needs to act — and quickly.

Source: UNEP

EBRD Helps Montenegro to Scale Up Investments in Renewables

17.09.2022

Montenegro plans to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix with a comprehensive programme of renewable energy auctions that will bring private investment into the sector.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping the Ministry of Capital Investments of Montenegro to implement the programme with dedicated technical assistance, financed by grants from the EBRD, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance through the High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action (HIPCA) and Italy through the Central European Initiative (CEI).

The aim is to assist Montenegro in boosting the use of clean energy and in building a sustainable and diversified power sector by creating an enabling business environment for private investment. The country, which has strong wind and solar energy potential, will be able to benefit from these resources at competitive prices.

The programme, which was presented today in Podgorica, will first support the authorities in developing a comprehensive legal framework in the form of a new renewable energy law that will lay the foundation for accelerating the growth of renewable energy sources. This will be followed by support for the design and implementation of a competitive bidding process to award market-based support for renewable electricity generators.

Remon Zakaria, Head of the EBRD in Montenegro, said: “We are very pleased to support the introduction of best international standards for scaling up renewable energy investments in the country. By reforming the energy sector, Montenegro will be able to harvest its rich sources of renewable energy and positively contribute to the environment and the economy.”

“Considering that our country has significant potential for renewable energy, such as hydro, wind, solar energy and biomass, our priority was and remains the production of renewable, clean energy. We want to turn climate and environmental challenges into our opportunities and competitive advantages, by ensuring a fair and inclusive transition towards climate neutrality. In line with its priorities in energy sector, Montenegro will continue activities to ensure secure energy supply, the development of a competitive energy market and sustainable energy development, with active cooperation with everyone who has the same goals,” said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Capital Investments Ervin Ibrahimović.

The majority of electricity in Montenegro is produced at the Pljevlja lignite-fired thermal power plant and the Perucica and Piva hydropower plants. Competitive procurement processes for renewables will allow the country to increase its share of solar and wind projects and decrease its reliance on coal.

In addition to environmental benefits, boosting investments in renewables could potentially help the country diversify its economy, which currently relies heavily on tourism. The existing underwater electricity cable that connects Montenegro with Italy, as well as other interconnections with neighbouring countries, could help position the country as clean energy exporter.

The EBRD has been supporting Montenegro in developing a sustainable and diversified energy sector through policy dialogue, technical assistance and investment. To date, the EBRD has invested more than €700 million in the country.

Source: EBRD

ABB Expands US Manufacturing Footprint with Investment in New EV Charger Facility

16.09.2022

ABB E-mobility, a leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, today announces the continued expansion of its global and US manufacturing footprint with new manufacturing operations in Columbia, South Carolina.

The multi-million dollar investment will increase production of electric vehicle chargers, including Buy America Act compliant ones, and create over 100 jobs. The new facility will be capable of producing up to 10,000 chargers per year, ranging from 20kW to 180kW in power, which are ideally suited for public charging, school buses, and fleets.

The operation builds on ABB E-mobility’s existing US manufacturing operations which produce transit bus chargers that range from 150kW to 450kW. This expansion will increase responsiveness to US market demand, create a more efficient localized supply chain, and reduce delivery lead times.

“The need for investment in the US e-mobility sector has never been greater, as 18 million EVs are expected to be on US roads by 2030. Expanding our US manufacturing operations will allow us to better serve our customers and help advance the adoption of EVs from private vehicles to public transportation and fleets,” said Bob Stojanovic, Vice President for ABB E-mobility in North America. “Our facility in South Carolina is another example of how we are driving the American e-mobility economy forward with high-quality and reliable EV charging solutions that meet the needs of every part of a sustainable transportation ecosystem.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act make transformational investments in transportation electrification including personal vehicles, school buses, transit buses, commercial fleets and the building of a national network of public chargers. The United States, along with vehicle OEMs, set the ambitious target that half of all new US vehicle sales are to be electric by 2030.

With this investment, ABB E-mobility adds to its capabilities to meet the US’s goals of building up the domestic manufacturing base for EV charging. EV chargers produced in South Carolina will meet the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) proposed Buy America Act framework for EV chargers as well as requirements of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

This manufacturing expansion is the latest in a series of significant US focused announcements from ABB E-mobility with continued investments planned for 2024 and beyond. In addition to the South Carolina facility, ABB E-mobility announced in July 2022 the launch of a training center in Sugar Land, Texas and an R&D facility in Southern California.

This year ABB also acquired a controlling interest in EV commercial charging infrastructure solutions company, InCharge Energy, expanding ABB’s smart and connected EV offering. In addition, ABB invested in EV charging software provider, ChargeLab.

Since 2010, ABB has invested 14 billion dollar in the U.S. with plant expansions, operational improvements, state-of-the-art equipment, products, and people, making it the company’s largest market. With approximately 20,000 employees in more than 40 manufacturing and distribution facilities, ABB is investing, growing, and serving across America through industries that create jobs, encourage innovation, and achieve a more productive, sustainable future.

Source: ABB

Travel With KLM Without a Guilty Conscience

14.09.2022

We all look forward to travelling, whether for business or pleasure but in moments of relaxation or warming up for an important meeting, few people will think about the carbon footprint of their vehicle. Driven by daily responsibilities, I often forget how much fossil fuel vehicles pollute the environment until the black smoke of the car in front of me catches my eye. However, as staying in a beautiful place can make stress and fatigue disappear but not climate change, our conscience tells us to combine the beautiful and the useful – travel and ecology. Finding an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional vehicles is not always easy. For short destinations, there is a train, but if you wish to visit Paris or Amsterdam, traveling by rail, which can take several days, is not a particularly tempting option.

And what do we do now? We live fast and are in constant motion, so we are forced to use air transport as one of the fastest and safest modes of transport. However, there is a difference in the airline you travel with because while some do not deviate from traditional fuels, others can boast a high index of sustainable development. One is the Group Air France – KLM, which works tirelessly to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Although they form a group, each of these companies has its programs that they have launched to protect the environment and reduce their environmental footprint. KLM, as the oldest company in the world that still flies under its original name, has launched programs related to environmental protection. Within the “Fly Responsibly” initiative, which reduces, replaces, or compensates for the impact on the environment, there is the program CO2ZERO (naturalization of carbon footprint and pollution caused by KLM flights) and SAF Program (SAF – Sustainable Aviation Fuel), which includes work on the development of sustainable aviation fuel and its use in aviation, sets them apart from other companies in this industry. Flying with KLM is no longer a pleasure solely because of comfort, reliability, and speed but also because of the knowledge that by traveling with this airline, I contributed to the protection of the environment, which, although it must not remain the only one, is by no means negligible. My recent trip to Amsterdam only confirmed this thesis.

In focus:

High-level ecology

Observing the sea of clouds as I flew from Belgrade to Amsterdam, I remembered what it used to be like to travel with all the renowned airlines that today have become almost low-budget, but not KLM. That is why I am not surprised that they were the winners of the APEX award in December last year, as the airline with the best service in the world, according to passengers. In addition to health protection, service, comfort, in-flight service, as well as the professionalism of employees during the summer were also assessed. And everything is just like that, at a high level, as it used to be. Even those for whom environmental protection is the least important thing will undoubtedly enjoy the top service on the plane, free internet exclusively for sending messages via Viber and WhatsApp applications, and food and drink included in the ticket price. If you are not one of those who doze off on a plane, free internet will make the time fly by in correspondence with dear people. Your internet access will also be important for the person who is impatiently waiting for you because it will shorten the boring time spent at the airport. On top of all that, KLM offers you essential information at all times, so you can see at what altitude and speed you are flying and what kind of weather awaits you at your final destination. It was interesting to follow all these data, which were especially useful for me since I was greeted by rain in the city of tulips, but also since I did not have that opportunity on the flights of other airlines. Delighted with the flight and the service, I began to share my impressions with people who fly often and explore other ways. Apart from the programs mentioned above that are pretty important, this company contributes to nature protection. I was utterly taken aback and decided to put my impressions on paper.

An airline that encourages you not to fly

At the very beginning of the text, I mentioned that the railway is imposed as a means of transport with the most negligible impact on nature, and KLM knows that. Putting conscience and care for the environment before profit, KLM does one incredible thing for the airline – it encourages passengers not to fly but to replace short-haul flights with rail. In cooperation with the Dutch government, KLM supports a long-term plan to replace flights of up to 700 kilometers with high-speed international trains, such as destinations to Brussels, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, and Berlin. Fortunately, this is not a film about superheroes but an example of a responsible and sustainable business that guarantees us the comfort and lifestyle we are used to while respecting all environmental standards. According to the Dow Jones report for 2019, Air France – KLM Group is the airline with the highest sustainable development index and a leader in sustainable business in the aviation industry. Everything they have done in the sustainability field exceeds the capacity of this text, and I will mention only the most important ones that have made me no longer have a dilemma as to which company I will fly.

Namely, in 2019, the Group reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 31 percent per passenger per kilometer compared to 2005, while the inevitable carbon footprint was significantly compensated. Flights with Air France – KLM Group are now accompanied by 31 percent less non-recyclable waste and 43 percent less pollution. Of course, all with the use of biofuels. The planet is surrounded by an ocean of clean air (oxygen). Each jet consumes up to 120 tons of atmospheric oxygen when flying over the ocean, which would be about 0.004 percent of that air per capita. If this calculation is complicated for you, we can do this: the airline industry is currently responsible for two to three per cent of total CO2 emissions. And that’s because it uses fossil fuels. That is why KLM’s primary goal is to focus on the sustainable future of the aviation industry and reduce CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 Although the paper endures everything, I will leave some more interesting initiatives for the next issue. I hope that this small part was enough for you that the next time you choose which flight to go on, consider and opt for Air France – KLM because you are certain that you are contributing to the reduction of our planet’s pollution!

Prepared by: Nevena Đukić

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.

Mihajlovic: With Discounts, we Want to Encourage People to Save, we are Struggling to Have Enough Electricity

13.09.2022

electricity-struja — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy, prof. Zorana Mihajlovic, Ph.D., said that the recommendations for reducing consumption proposed by the Ministry can bring savings of 15 percent and at the same time that the state financially stimulates with additional discounts all those who reduce consumption.

“The recommendations we proposed apply to both households and the state administration, local self-governments, and public companies. Additional discounts are for households, because they make up 42 percent of the total structure of daily consumption, and this is where the most savings can be made, if only a little care is taken in how we use electrical devices. These are normal things that will not make our functioning difficult, will not endanger anyone, and will lead us to reduce consumption. Pessimistic EPS estimates are that the reduction will be eight percent, our estimates are that it is possible to reduce it by 15 percent,” she said.

Mihajlovic stated that Serbia has decided to provide additional financial stimulation to citizens who save, and that in other countries in Europe, high penalties are prescribed for non-compliance with savings measures.

“We want to encourage people to save and earn, and this will be measured according to the energy consumed in the same month of the previous year.” EPS proposal is that households that reduce consumption by more than 10 to 20 percent will receive a 10 percent discount. Households that reduce consumption by more than 20 percent, even up to 30 percent, will receive a 20 percent discount, and everyone who spends 30 percent or more less will receive a 30 percent discount. For EPS, this means that it will have costs of around four billion dinars until the end of March, but if we look at the electricity prices on the market, we will save at least half a billion euros. That’s when we’re only talking about households. Public companies, state administration, cities and municipalities should submit their energy saving plans by the 15th. They know best how to reduce, and they will have groups of people who control it. State administration and local governments as well. There are owners of buildings in all facilities and we are waiting for proposals,” said Mihajlovic.

She reiterated that the state does not make any plans for electricity restrictions, but that it strives every day to provide sufficient amounts of electricity, gas and energy for the economy and households.

“We are not planning any restrictions.” There are a million things we do to avoid them, but we pay a huge amount of money to import electricity, so it would be good if we all realized together how important it is to start saving. Today, a megawatt-hour is 450 euros, in August it was 750, and last year between 50 and 70 euros. During August, we gave more than 100 million euros for the import of electricity, and it is impossible to predict what the prices will be on the market in the coming period, and the recommendations are an attempt to reduce the money we give,” said Mihajlovic.

Source: Ministry of Mining and Energy

Global Energy Employment Rises Above Pre-Covid Levels, Driven by Clean Energy and Efforts to Strengthen Supply Chains

11.09.2022

wind_park_vetropark_wind_mills_vetrenjače_clean_energy_čista_energija_obnovljivi_izvori_renewables — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Global employment in the energy sector has risen above its pre-pandemic levels, led by increased hiring in clean energy, according to a new IEA report that offers the first worldwide benchmark for employment across energy industries.

The inaugural edition of the World Energy Employment Report, which will be published annually, maps energy sector employment by technology and value chain segment. The report provides a data-rich foundation for policy makers and industry decision makers to understand the labour-related impacts of clean energy transitions and shifts in energy supply chains following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The amount of energy jobs worldwide has recovered from disruptions due to Covid-19, increasing above its pre-pandemic level of over 65 million people, or around 2 percent of the total labour force. The growth has been driven by hiring in clean energy sectors. The oil and gas sector, meanwhile, saw some of the largest declines in employment at the start of the pandemic and has yet to fully recover.

With the recent rebound, clean energy surpassed the 50 percent mark for its share of total energy employment, with nearly two-thirds of workers involved in building new projects and manufacturing clean energy technologies. At the same time, the oil and gas sector is also experiencing an upswing in employment, with new projects under development, notably new liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.

The energy sector is set to see its fastest employment growth in recent years in 2022, however high input costs and inflationary pressures are adding to hiring and supply chain challenges already present in some regions and subsectors, such as solar, wind, oil, and gas. Policy responses to the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the US Inflation Reduction Act, will continue to add to new hiring demand and to shifting the status-quo of global energy supply chains.

Energy jobs counted in this report span the value chain, with around a third of workers in energy fuel supply (coal, oil, gas and bioenergy), a third in the power sector (generation, transmission, distribution and storage), and a third in key energy end uses (vehicle manufacturing and energy efficiency). More than half of energy employment is in the Asia-Pacific region. This reflects rapidly expanding energy infrastructure in the region and access to lower-cost labour that has enabled the emergence of manufacturing hubs that serve both local and export markets, notably for solar, electric vehicles and batteries. China alone accounts for 30 percent of the global energy workforce.

In all IEA scenarios, clean energy employment is set to grow, outweighing declines in fossil fuels jobs. In the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, 14 million new clean energy jobs are created by 2030, while another 16 million workers switch to new roles related to clean energy. New energy jobs may not always be in the same location nor require the same skills as the jobs they replace, requiring policy makers to focus on job training and capacity building to ensure that energy transitions benefit as many people as possible.

“Countries around the world are responding to the current crisis by seeking to accelerate the growth of homegrown clean energy industries. The regions that make this move will see huge growth in jobs,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Seizing this opportunity requires skilled workers. Governments, companies, labour representatives and educators must come together to develop the programmes and accreditations needed to cultivate this workforce and ensure the jobs created are quality jobs that can attract a diverse workforce.”

Around 45 percent of the world’s energy workers are in high-skilled occupations, compared with about 25 percent for the wider economy. Some fossil fuel companies are retraining workers internally for positions in low-carbon areas to retain talent or to maintain flexibility as needs arise. However, this is not an option everywhere, and ensuring a people-centred and just transition for affected workers must remain a focus for policy makers, especially in the coal sector where employment has been declining consistently for several years.

Source: IEA

Five Cities Tackling Air Pollution

10.09.2022

peking zagađenje — Foto: Tviter skrinšot

Photo-illustration: Pixabay (Maruf_Rahman)

Air pollution has been called the most-pressing environmental health crisis of our time, responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year. Approximately nine in 10 people around the world breathe unclean air, which increases the risk of asthma, heart disease and lung cancer.

City dwellers, especially the poor, often suffer the most from air pollution, which along with imperilling lives, feeds climate change. Realizing those dangers, several municipalities are taking action to combat airborne contaminants.

Ahead of the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies on 7 September, an annual event that stresses the urgent need to improve air quality, we look at five of those cities.

Bogota, Colombia

Bogota is one of Latin America’s leaders in reducing air pollution. The city is electrifying its public bus network and aims to completely electrify the metro system, part of an ambitious plan to reduce its air pollution by 10 per cent by 2024. Bogota’s mayor, Claudia López Hernández, has also highlighted the importance of bikes.

“We now have more than 1 million trips on a daily basis by bike,” she said in 2020. While much of Bogotá’s pollution comes from transport, forest fires in neighbouring regions and countries have also added to the toll.

Warsaw, Poland

Poland is home to 36 of the European Union’s 50 most-polluted cities, with air pollution responsible for 47,500 premature deaths every year. It is now fighting back, having signed the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration in 2019. Earlier this year, it launched Breathe Warsaw, a partnership with Clean Air Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies to improve air quality. Warsaw now has 165 air sensors across the city, the largest network in Europe, and Breathe Warsaw will use them to develop an air quality database, allowing officials to better understand pollution sources. The initiative will also provide technical assistance to support the phase-out of coal heating, set up a low-emission zone by 2024 and connect local leaders to share best practices.

Seoul, South Korea

With 26 million people living in Greater Seoul, it is no surprise the city is facing an air quality crisis. Indeed, the mean exposure of Koreans to a toxic particle known as PM2.5 is the highest of any state in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. PM2.5 levels in Seoul are about twice those of other major cities in developed countries. In 2020, the city announced it would ban diesel cars from all public sector and mass transit fleets by 2025. Meanwhile, a partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will explore the lessons learned over the past 15 years on improving air quality and help share these experiences with other cities in the region.

Accra, Ghana

Accra was the first African city to join the BreatheLife campaign and is considered a leader among cities on the continent aiming to tackle air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 28,000 people die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution, while the Ghanaian capital’s average air pollution levels are five times WHO guidelines. The city has started a campaign to educate people about the health dangers of indoor cookstoves and to discourage locals from burning their waste. A joint effort between the WHO and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition is supporting a city-wide assessment of the health benefits of switching to more sustainable transport, waste and household energy systems.

Bangkok, Thailand

Given Bangkok’s traffic is some of the worst in the world, it is no surprise the city often labours under a layer of pollution. In 2020, hundreds of schools were forced to close as the levels of fine particulate matter – or PM2.5 – in the air reached unsafe levels. The city has launched a number of initiatives to tackle both air pollution and carbon emissions. The Green Bangkok 2030 project, launched in 2019, aims to increase the ratio of green space in the city to 10sqm per person, have trees covering 30 per cent of the city’s total area, and ensure footpaths meet international standards. Eleven parks are set to open during the project’s first phase, as well as a 15km greenway, all with the aim of encouraging less reliance on private transportation, thereby reducing pollution.

Source: UNEP

BMW Group to Use Innovative Round BMW Battery Cells in NEUE KLASSE from 2025

09.09.2022

P90477502_highRes_innovative-round-bmw — Photo: BMW Group

The BMW Group is convinced that powerful, innovative, sustainably-produced battery cells will be key to the success of individual electromobility in the future. The company is set to launch a new era of e-mobility from 2025 with the models of its NEUE KLASSE – using newly-developed round battery cells optimised for the new architecture for the first time.

“The newly-developed sixth generation of our lithium-ion cells will bring a huge leap in technology that will increase energy density by more than 20 percent, improve charging speed by up to 30 percent and enhance range by up to 30 percent,” according to Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Development. “We are also reducing CO2 emissions from cell production by up to 60 percent. These are big steps for sustainability and customer benefits.”

“To meet our long-term needs, we will be building battery cell factories with our partners, each with an annual capacity of up to 20 GWh, at six locations in key markets for us: two in China, two in Europe and two in USMCA,” added Joachim Post, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network. “We have also reached agreement with our partners that they will use a percentage of secondary material for the raw materials lithium, cobalt and nickel, as well as utilising green power for production, to ensure CO2-reduced manufacturing.”

The BMW Group has already awarded contracts in the two-digit billion-euro range for production of the new BMW battery cells. By leveraging the comprehensive in-house expertise of the company’s own Battery Cell Competence Centre, the team from development, production and purchasing has been able to significantly reduce costs for the high-voltage battery, thanks to the new battery cell and new integration concept for battery technology developed by BMW. Based on current market assumptions, costs can be reduced by up to 50 percent, compared to the current fifth generation. The BMW Group has set itself the goal of bringing manufacturing costs for fully-electric models down to the same level as vehicles with state-of-the-art combustion-engine technology.

Technological advances: new cell format and enhanced cell chemistry

The battery cell is responsible for electric vehicles’ core properties of range, driving performance and charging time. For the sixth generation of BMW eDrive technology used in the NEUE KLASSE, the company has fundamentally refined the cell format and cell chemistry. With the new BMW round cell specially designed for the electric architecture of the NEUE KLASSE models, it will be possible to significantly increase the range of the highest-range model by up to 30 percent (according to WLTP).

The new BMW round cells come with a standard diameter of 46 millimetres and two different heights. Compared to the prismatic cells of the fifth BMW battery cell generation, the nickel content in the sixth-generation BMW round cells is higher on the cathode side, while the cobalt content is reduced. On the anode side, the silicon content will be increased. As a result, the cell’s volumetric energy density will improve by more than 20 percent.

The battery system plays a key role in the body structure of the NEUE KLASSE. Depending on the model, it can be flexibly integrated into the installation space to save space (“pack to open body”). The cell module level is thus eliminated.

The battery, drive train and charging technology in the NEUE KLASSE will also have a higher voltage of 800 volts. Among other things, this will optimise how energy is supplied to direct current high-power charging stations, which can achieve a much higher charging capacity with a current of up to 500 amperes – thus reducing the time it takes to charge the vehicle from 10 to 80 percent by up to 30 percent.

Battery cell factories in China, Europe and USMCA – each with total capacity of up to 20 GWh per year

To supply the battery cells needed for the NEUE KLASSE, the BMW Group has already awarded contracts in the two-digit billion-euro range for construction of battery cell factories to CATL and EVE Energy. Both partners will build two gigafactories in China and Europe. Each of the battery cell factories will have a total annual capacity of up to 20 GWh. Plans call for two more battery cell factories to be built in the North American free trade zone,

USMCA, for which the partners have not yet been nominated.

The three regions where the battery cell factories will be built will also benefit economically from the creation of new supply chains, new networks for subcontractors and new jobs.

CO2-reduced production using green power and secondary material

The BMW Group is particularly focused on keeping the carbon footprint and consumption of resources for production as low as possible, starting in the supply chain. Cell manufacturers will use cobalt, lithium and nickel that include a percentage of secondary material, i.e. raw materials that are not newly mined, but already in the loop, in production of battery cells. Combined with the commitment to use only green power from renewable energies for production of battery cells, the BMW Group will reduce the carbon footprint of battery cell production by up to 60 percent, compared to the current generation of battery cells.

Reuse of raw materials will be one of the success factors for e-mobility in the future. Circular loops reduce the need for new raw materials, lower the risk of infringing environmental and social standards in the supply chain and generally result in significantly lower CO2 emissions. That is why the long-term goal of the BMW Group is to use fully recyclable battery cells. In China, the company is currently creating a closed loop for reuse of the raw materials nickel, lithium and cobalt from high-voltage batteries, thus laying the cornerstone of a ground-breaking material cycle.

The cobalt and lithium used as raw materials for the new generation of BMW battery cells will be sourced from certified mines. This means the company retains full transparency over extraction methods and, in this way, can ensure responsible mining. The sourcing of both raw materials from certified mines takes place either directly through the BMW Group or via the battery cell manufacturer.

The BMW Group has been actively involved for many years in initiatives to develop standards for responsible raw material extraction and promote compliance with environmental and social standards for raw material extraction through certification of mines. In this way, the company is also making itself less technologically, geographically and geopolitically dependent on individual resources and suppliers.

Development of future BMW battery cells at in-house competence centres

The BMW Group is constantly working to further develop energy storage systems. For instance, its sixth-generation battery technology also offers the option of using cathodes made of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) for the first time. This means the critical raw materials cobalt and nickel can then be avoided entirely in the cathode material. In parallel, the BMW Group is also pushing forward with development of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). The company aims to have high-voltage batteries of this type ready for series introduction by the end of the decade. The BMW Group will present a demonstrator vehicle with this technology on board well before 2025.

The BMW Group has been systematically building expertise in the field of battery cell technology since 2008. Since 2019, this know-how has been concentrated at the BMW Group’s Battery Cell Competence Centre (BCCC) in Munich. The BCCC spans the entire value chain – from research and development to battery cell design to manufacturability.

To ensure innovations in battery cell technology are put into practice quickly and efficiently, the BMW Group relies on a network of around 300 partners, with cooperation between established companies, startups and colleges, among others.

The knowledge gained in this way will be validated at the new Cell Manufacturing Competence Centre (CMCC) in Parsdorf, near Munich, which will begin commissioning near-standard production of samples in late 2022 for the future BMW battery cell generation to be used in the NEUE KLASSE from 2025 onwards.

The pilot line at the competence centre will make it possible to analyse and fully understand the cell production process under near-standard conditions. This will help enable future suppliers produce cells to specifications and according to their own expertise – thus further optimising battery cell production with regard to quality, output and costs.

NEUE KLASSE will make major contribution to sales volumes

With a fast-growing product lineup and high demand, the BMW Group aims to have more than two million fully-electric vehicles on the roads by the end of 2025.

The all-electric NEUE KLASSE will make a significant contribution to BMW Group sales volumes from mid-decade. The NEUE KLASSE has the potential to further accelerate the market penetration of e-mobility: This means 50 percent of the BMW Group’s global sales could already come from fully-electric vehicles before 2030.

The MINI brand will have an exclusively all-electric product range by the early 2030s, while Rolls-Royce will also be an all-electric brand from 2030. All future new models from BMW Motorrad in the field of urban mobility will likewise be fully electric.

Source: BMW Group

We are Looking Forward to New RES Projects

08.09.2022

Reducing support for the fossil fuel industry and, on the other hand, understanding and supporting those sectors of the economy that have a significant impact on reducing pollution and climate change enable the financial sector to make a decisive impact in the energy transition. Erste Bank Serbia has so far financed more than 60 projects in the renewable energy industry (RES). Thanks to their credit support, 400 megawatts of capacity have been built that produce clean green energy from wind, water, solar, biomass and biogas. We talked about the market situation, projects and plans with Aleksandar Savić, Head of public sector and specialized lending department of ERSTE Bank.

EP: Tell us more about RES financing projects in Serbia. What did the new law bring? How do you approach the selection of projects, and which projects do you finance?

Aleksandar Savic: When the first regulation on incentives for RES projects was adopted in December 2009, Erste Bank was practically a pioneer in their financing. The first project was financed in April 2010, and in accordance with its name (Erste, German, first – editor’s note), we financed the first biogas plant and the first wind farm in Serbia.

All these projects are financed on the basis of feed-in tariffs adopted by regulations, and the legislative framework is defined within the Law on Energy. In April 2021, the first law dealing exclusively with the use of RES was passed (the Law on Rational Use of Energy and the Law on Energy Efficiency were passed in parallel), and solutions were implemented in most Western European countries. The most significant change is certainly the transition from feed-in tariffs to the auction mechanism. For banks, the auction mechanism with a bilateral premium represents a similar level of price risk mitigation. Still, the achieved price at the auction is crucial for the successful implementation of projects.

So far, no auction has been held, but the first auction for wind farms was announced in November last year. The proposed starting price was 55.7 euros per MWh, and having in mind not only the current circumstances on the electricity market but also the expected trends, as well as the situation on the equipment market and the current level of investment, the offered maximum price was not adequate.

Another big novelty is the introduction of the producer-consumer institution, the so-called prosumer, into the legal framework. This has greatly opened up the tremendous potential for building new solar photovoltaic capacities. When it comes to project selection, the process is quite complex. So far, we have financed over 60 projects of all types of RES available in Serbia, except geothermal ones.

In focus:

EP: How important is the support of KFW, the World Bank or the EBRD through funds, and how important is the support of our country?

Aleksandar Savić: The support of international financial institutions is of great importance. Most of these projects were implemented using the credit lines of these institutions, and in a large number of cases, these lines also carried a significant part of the grant component (grants). As for the support of our state, it is the most important in the legal security of investment and simplified and expeditious administration.

When it comes to subsidies, it is necessary to take a more serious approach and look in the right way at what constitutes their most rational use. Otherwise, we may find ourselves in absurd situations such as the fact that as a state, we subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles in the amount of 5,000 euros in a situation where they pollute significantly more than EURO 6 petrol and diesel vehicles due to the current energy mix.

EP: What is the significance of the green energy sector and other forms of sustainable development for the banking se- ctor in Serbia? What is new in this field in the bank’s business policy? Does Erste Bank plan to provide additional capital to finance sustainable development in Serbia?

Aleksandar Savić: For most of the leading banks in Serbia, this sector is already very important and given the current circumstances and future expectations, I am sure that it will (if not already) become the most important because the issue of energy transition and sustainable development becomes the most important social issue. This trend must also be reflected in the way banks view the environment in which they operate, which inevitably results in changes or the introduction of new business practices and policies.

Clients will increasingly receive questions from banks that were not there before and may seem “non-banking” at first glance. For example, a natural person seeking a housing loan may be asked which energy class the property he is buying belongs to. The legal entity may receive questions regarding the amount of waste produced annually, fuel consumption, water and the like. I am sure that such issues in the future will determine not only the price of borrowing, but in certain cases, the possibility of the same. That speaks a lot about the significance.

EP: What are the world trends regarding RES financing, and is Serbia on the right track? Can you single out some examples of good practice from Europe that we could copy in our country as well?

Aleksandar Savić: It may be hard to believe, but Serbia used to be a leading country in using RES. The first hydropower plant in Europe was built in Serbia (only 19 years after the first hydroelectric power plant in the world, near Niagara). It is the SHPP “Pod Gradom” near Užice, which was put into operation in 1900, and is still in operation. We should not forget the hydro-capacities that were built during the last century. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances and factors, we are currently one of the least developed countries in terms of using RES in Europe. We still mostly (70 percent) produce electricity by burning low-calorie lignite. We do not use the potentials we have in the field of RES. For example, in the Czech Republic, which according to almost all data, is comparable to Serbia (agricultural production, arable land, generated organic waste), over 330 MW of biogas plants are currently installed (by 2030, the plan is to reach 485 MW). In Serbia, it is about 30 MW – 11 times less.

I believe the market has already resolved the issue of return on investment. In this area, state support is not crucial (although the actual production price of electricity produced from coal and the price at which scarce electricity is procured are far higher than those at which adequate capacity from RES can be obtained). Still, efficient, cheap, and fast administration is certainly the part where the biggest progress can be made.

Interviewed by: Milica Marković

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.

Solar Energy for Secure Supply

08.09.2022

solar-panel-solarni-paneli — Photo-illustration: Pixabay (Zsuzska321)

Solar energy, green hydrogen, the hydropower sector and decarbonization are the topics of discussion on the second day of the Conference Energy Week Western Balkans organized by the British company Invest In Network, with the support of the Montenegrin Investment Agency and the Department for International Trade of the United Kingdom.

The participants of yesterday’s panels are eminent regional names in the energy field and representatives of large European investment funds.

At a time when of a major energy crisis and a severe electricity shortage, the panel on “Solar energy and batteries for energy storage” attracted a lot of attention from the participants.

Evan Rice, UGT Renewables, is an expert in energy storage systems. In his presentation, he paid special attention to energy storage systems, their potential and how much they will be used in the future.

Dimitris Galanos, Sungrow, spoke about solving the challenges investors face when building solar power plants in the Balkans.

Nemanja Mikać, ElevenES, spoke about LFP batteries, which will be produced in the factory in Subotica, the first large factory of its kind in Europe. He spoke about the advantages of using these batteries and how far the process of making them is progressing, and that it is necessary for everyone to cooperate when it comes to progress in this field.

Fabian Kuhn, Fichtner, talked about solar projects and energy storage batteries. As he pointed out, more and more energy will require more and more storage space.

Till Barmeier, GIZ, spoke about the concept of the prosumer in Serbia. He also mentioned the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources, which was adopted last year. Thanks to the new legislative framework, households and industries can now produce electricity for their own needs and deliver the surplus to the grid.

The Potential of the Region is Substantial, We Must Act Swiftly Right Now

Miloš Kostić, MT-KOMEX, spoke about the future of photovoltaic systems in Serbia. As he pointed out, he realized a long time ago that the price of electricity will increase year after year and that we should become energy independent as soon as possible. In addition to gaining independence from electricity suppliers, using solar energy reduces carbon dioxide emissions and contributes to raising environmental protection awareness.

“Green energy must be the future,” Kostić noted.

He added that the European Union aims to reach 400 GW of solar energy by 2025 and almost 740 GW by 2030. The plan is for the EU to obtain at least 45 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Kostić pointed out that the company MT-KOMEX is the leader when it comes to the construction of solar power plants in Serbia. They built the first privately owned ground-mounted solar power plant and started constructing the largest privately owned ground-mounted bifacial solar power plant in Serbia.

The conference Energy Week Western Balkans is held on the Montenegrin coast and lasts from September 6 to 8, 2022.

Energy Portal

The Potential of the Region is Substantial, We Must Act Swiftly Right Now

07.09.2022

vetrogenerator_vetar_vetroelektrana — Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Andrew Schultz)

The Energy Week Western Balkans conference organized by the British company Invest In Network is underway in Montenegro.

The first panel discussed the potential of clean energy sources in the Western Balkans. The participants were Rigela Gegprifti, from the company Statkraft from Albania, Mladen Grgić, Director of the Montenegrin Investment Agency, then Francesco Corbo, representing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Eric Scotto, President, and co-founder of Akuo Energy. The panel moderator was Artur Lorkowski, director of the Energy Community Secretariat.

The participants discussed the potential of the Western Balkans in terms of clean and renewable energy sources, what is particularly interesting for investors in the region, and the transition of the energy mix to RES. All the speakers highlighted the region’s great potential. They mentioned the most important projects that have already been implemented, as well as those that are planned.

Mladen Grgić underlined the great importance that lies in the connection between our countries because we share rivers and lakes, and most of the Western Balkans countries were one country in the past. As he pointed out, establishing cooperation beyond individual countries’ borders is very important since we all have the same goal, and investors see the region as a whole, not as separate countries.

The participants agree that what represents a challenge, despite the great interest of the private sector, is the insufficiently structured approach of the governments of our countries, as well as the absence of regulations and laws.

Francesco Corbo pointed out that the 72 MW Krnovo wind farm project, the first wind farm in Montenegro and one of the largest in the region, is the first EBRD project in our region after almost 30 years.

Eric Scotto mentioned that Montenegro, where Akuo Energy established this project, was supposed to be the first country in Europe to use 100 percent renewable energy sources.

They especially mentioned that Montenegro is a country where all households will have the opportunity to save significant funds thanks to the large capacity of renewable energy sources and the great potential for energy export. Scotto referred particularly to electricity storage, which is of great importance and one of the key elements in the energy transition.

“In the past, people resisted using renewable energy sources, but today there is no alternative; even energy prices give us a signal that it’s time to speed up,” he pointed out.

The panel participants said that everyone present certainly knows what needs to be done, and if they act, we will all create a better future for all of us and our children. They emphasize that “we need to act swiftly right now”.

Energy Week Western Balkans

Project financing

The second panel on the first day of the conference was about the financing of clean energy projects, the transition from feed-in tariffs to the auction system, and funding risks and how to minimize them. The moderator of the panel was Petar Mitrović, partner and lawyer at Karanović & Partners, while the panelists were Guido Cleri, representing the European Investment Bank (EIB), Matti Piiparinen, from the Green for Growth Fund (GGF), Duško Krsmanović representing UKEF, Milica Sredanović, Head for Infrastructure at International Financial Corporation and Maja Turković Senior Vice President SVP Development Europe.

Guido Cleri spoke about the EIB’s investments in renewable energy sources, and everyone was interested in the position of investing in projects involving the private sector and how much they are willing to risk in order to reach the targets for reducing GHG emissions by 2030.

Matti Piiparinen from GGF (Green for Growth Fund) spoke about the organization’s activities and projects within Finance in Motion that advise GGF on harnessing the power of green finance and investments that reduce CO2 emissions in 19 markets across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

As he explained, they are working on six Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) and Climate Action (SDG 13).

Duško Krsmanović is the UKEF manager in charge of the Western Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe; in his presentation, he talked about the projects they are working on and how UK Export Financing works.

Milica Sredanović emphasized the importance of IFC financing in the region and underlined that 54 per cent of their energy portfolio is in renewable energy sources.

The presentation of Maja Turković related to projects in the sector of renewable energy sources but also the challenges they face due to the current situation on the market.

The conference Energy Week Western Balkans is held on the Montenegrin coast and lasts from September 6 to 8, 2022.

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