17.10.2022.

ADDITIONAL $4.9 MILLION SUPPORT FOR A “GREENER” SERBIA

More than 80 solutions from all over the country selected for the green transformation of the economy and society

Today, as a part of the initiative “EU for Green Agenda in Serbia”, a presentation has been held for more than 80 innovative solutions selected for further support, to be implemented in practice and contribute to a quicker green transformation of the Serbian economy and society. These solutions arrived in response to 4 public calls that were issued, in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in cooperation with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and European Investment Bank (EIB).

Today, at the media conference organised to present the selected “green” solutions, a new partnership was announced with the Government of Switzerland, as well as additional financial support by Switzerland to the “EU for Green Agenda in Serbia” initiative and its implementation.

“We expect that the allocated national and donor funds for implementation of the innovative solutions submitted in response to these public calls, would encourage and stimulate other donors, as well as the banking and economy sectors and, to join us on the path of Serbia’s green transformation,” said Sandra Dokić, Assistant to the Minister of Environmental Protection.

She noted that a sustainable economic development of Serbia, paying particular attention to the environmental protection and wellbeing of all, was among the top priorities of the Serbian Government and the Ministry of Environmental Protection. She underscored that, the Government had adopted a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in August of this year to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases and that Serbia had thus shown its clear orientation towards decarbonisation of its economy and society.

“Switzerland is dedicated to combating climate change, both in Switzerland and all over the world. Through this contribution of $4.9 million and additionally planned $2.2 million especially dedicated to decarbonisation, Switzerland joins the common efforts of the Serbian Government, the donor community and the private sector, to combat climate change,” said Richard Kohli, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Department in Serbia.

“On the path towards climate neutrality, every effort matters! We have no time to waste, the entire planet is involved in this race to prevent catastrophic climate scenarios,” asserted Nicola Bertolini, Head of the Cooperation Department of the EU Delegation in Serbia, and added: 

“Today we have two important pieces of news concerning our support to the Green Agenda in Serbia: we welcome the financial support by Switzerland to our initiative for accelerating the green transition of the economy. Furthermore, we are announcing the results of 4 public calls. The participation was very good, with more than 140 applications, while the investment needs reached around 75 million euros. However, important efforts are still ahead and Serbia needs to make them, including adopting and implementing the Air Protection Programme 2022-2030, in order to protect the environment and health of the citizens.”

Responding to these public calls for solutions to increase energy production from renewable resources, decrease energy consumption, stimulate a circular waste-free economy, decrease pollution and improve the quality of air, renew forest ecosystems and implement greening of urban areas – as many as 140 solutions were submitted in just 5 months, from March to July this year. Public and private companies, local self-governments, science research institutions and civil society organisations from cities and municipalities from all over Serbia, proposed their innovative solutions for the implementation of the Green Agenda in Serbia.

implementation of all the proposed ideas in practice would result in a higher quality of air for 2,300,000 citizens of Serbia. 

The complete list of all the selected solutions from all four fields of the Green Agenda covered by the public calls thus far is available at https://zelena-agenda.euzatebe.rs/en/about-project and                    https://www.undp.org/serbia/projects/eu-green-agenda-serbia

The media conference was organised under the project “EU for Green Agenda in Serbia” which is, with the financial support by the EU in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, implemented by UNDP, in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden, European Investment Bank and the Government of Switzerland.