December 8, 2025
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Greece’s first municipal energy community to be launched in its coal capital Kozani

The city of Kozani in northern Greece, home of the country’s dwindling lignite industry, is seeking a contractor for seven photovoltaic systems of 7 MW overall. The municipality said the power plants would supply its buildings, public lighting, pumps and drilling rigs as part of the country’s first energy community led by a local authority. Under a virtual net metering scheme, the facilities are also intended for combating energy poverty.

Energy communities are present all over Greece, but private capital is dominant – instead of individuals, local institutions and small firms. The concept can be especially beneficial for local authorities in coal regions, which are undergoing rapid decarbonization and turning toward cutting-edge technologies.

Job losses and a lack of skills jeopardize communities in such areas. The Municipality of Kozani, the capital of Greece’s coal land, the region of Western Macedonia, is one of them. It was among the first in the country that launched initiatives for energy communities led by local authorities.

Deadline for applications is January 12

Kozani has opened a tender for the selection of a contractor that would build seven photovoltaic plants. The municipal solar power units would operate under a virtual net metering scheme.

It would enable supplying municipal buildings, street lighting, schools, sports facilities, pumps and drilling rigs, but also the means to fight against energy poverty. The municipality received funding via the European Union for the project, under a just development and transition program.

The city claimed that it would be the country’s first energy community of its kind. Prospective candidates can apply by January 12, and the selection is scheduled for January 16. The budget amounts to EUR 6.25 million including value-added tax, and the local authority participates with 20%.

Kozani already invested EUR 650,000 in its energy community

The project is placing the Municipality of Kozani in the lead in energy self-sufficiency and autonomy in the country, Mayor Yiannis Kokkaliaris said.

He revealed that the local authority managed to secure grid connection terms in time not to lose the EUR 650,000 that it spent so far for the purpose.

The Kozani area is already hosting some of Greece’s largest photovoltaic plants and projects. It is envisaged for one of six waste incinerators in the country. Government-controlled Public Power Corp. (PPC Group) plans to build pumped storage hydropower plants on its depleted open pit coal mines in the region.

Of note, Greece recently lost EUR 100 million from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for the Apollo program. It was aimed for self-consumption for vulnerable households through forming an energy community.

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December 2, 2025
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Just Transition Forum unites regional leaders to tackle energy poverty, shape fair energy future

Governments, partners, civil society and community leaders from across Europe gathered in Tbilisi for the Energy Community’s Just Transition Forum to explore how energy efficiency can help end energy poverty and strengthen public trust in the clean-energy transition.

The forum delivered a clear message: a just transition cannot succeed without meaningful dialogue with diverse civil society and non-governmental partners, whose expertise and perspectives must be integrated into planning. As contracting parties begin preparing their new national energy and climate plans (NECPs), embedding just transition in transparent frameworks and long-term strategies is key to turning decarbonization commitments into real benefits for people and communities.

This principle is further reflected in the Energy Community’s newly published Just Transition Policy Guidelines, which guide governments in integrating just transition elements into energy and climate planning – ensuring that decarbonization goes hand in hand with social protection, local opportunity, and public trust, while supporting alignment with the European Union’s clean energy and climate objectives.

Lorkowski: New NECPs should tell story of just, sustained transition

Opening the forum, Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski underscored the importance of the current moment for regional energy and climate planning. The new NECPs, he stressed, should tell the story of a just and sustained transition.

“We are entering a pivotal moment for the region’s energy and climate future. With just transition principles at the core, they can pave the way toward EU energy market integration and turn the green transition into an engine of investment, inclusion, and shared prosperity,” Lorkowski stated.

Critically, the Energy Community’s Governance Regulation requires contracting parties to assess and address energy poverty in their NECPs. It is an opportunity to ensure that energy-poor households receive targeted support and remain central to energy efficiency and decarbonization efforts.

Just Transition Forum unites regional leaders energy poverty fair energy future

Energy Efficiency First for Energy Poverty

To drive the agenda forward, forum participants drew on insights from the secretariat’s study Energy Efficiency First for Energy Poverty. It reveals that 30% to 40% of households in Kosovo*, Albania, North Macedonia, and Georgia face energy poverty, and shows how targeted energy efficiency investments can transform lives across the region – making homes warmer, healthier, and more affordable to run.

By prioritizing vulnerable households, establishing renovation funds, and applying the Energy Efficiency First (EE1st) principle, contracting parties could cut household energy demand by more than 60%, create up to 19 local jobs for every EUR 1 million invested, and triple the wider benefits through improved well-being, comfort, and productivity.

Energy Community contracting parties could cut household energy demand by more than 60%

Emphasizing the importance of a people-centred transition, Head of EU Delegation to Georgia Paweł Herczyński stated: “For the European Union, a just transition is not only an environmental goal. It is a commitment to people, fairness and long-term resilience. This transformation must be built through dialogue, transparency and the active participation of communities. Ensuring that this transition succeeds, it will depend on transparent governance, democratic credibility and alignment with the EU standards.”

The forum also celebrated the winners of this year’s Just Transition Young Voices Awards. Their work highlighted how listening to those most affected by the transition — and youth, who will carry it forward — is essential to understanding the diverse realities of communities navigating the shift to a greener economy.

Cooperating partners for the forum included the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, KfW on behalf of the German government, AFD – Agence Française de Développement, and the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria.

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* This designation is without prejudice to positions onstatus and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
December 2, 2025
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Energy communities reduce power bills for members, improve electricity market

Citizen energy communities make the energy system greener and benefit society at a local level, Josh Roberts from European federation of energy communities REScoop said in his presentation, organized in Belgrade by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is a form of association that also lowers costs for households, institutions and small firms and entrepreneurs, and contributes to the deployment of progressive technologies. Furthermore, it is a framework for democratic control.

The event included developers from the emerging segment of energy communities and cooperatives in Serbia. They outlined the current initiatives and pointed to challenges regarding market entry, financing and policies.

The establishment and operation of energy communities is arranged through the European Union’s latest legislation, as well as in Serbia and other Western Balkan countries, but they are not a new concept. For instance, such entities still accounted for almost half of wind power output in Denmark in late 1990s, according to Senior Policy Advisor Josh Roberts from REScoop, the European federation of energy communities and cooperatives.

Speaking at a gathering that GIZ organized in Belgrade he pointed to the benefits for citizens, small firms and entrepreneurs and for institutions from setting up or joining energy communities. Initiatives in Serbia were also presented, and their progress in the same field, and the event included dialogue on the necessary technical solutions for connecting to the distribution grid.

Brussels-based REScoop was founded in 2013. In its membership are organizations from 22 European countries. They include Serbian energy cooperative Elektropionir. It gained the most ground regarding association and the implementation of projects.

One coal town has put up signpost for energy communities in Slovenia

Among other examples, Roberts highlighted Slovenia’s first energy community with a rooftop solar power plant for joint use. The facility is on the roof of an elementary school. The project involves aid for people living in energy poverty and it is free to join the group.

It is in the town of Hrastnik in a former coal industry area. The participants already lowered their power bills by 30%, and the gains will be even greater when they pay off the loan, Roberts said.

There are more than 1,600 energy communities in Austria

The representative of the REScoop federation stressed that municipalities in the Belgian region of Wallonia have succeeded in obtaining the right for citizens to participate in investments in green energy projects. It resulted in the foundation of a range of energy communities.

Roberts especially commended Austria’s legal framework with regard to enabling citizens to participate. The country hosts more than 1,600 energy communities.

Udruzivanje energetske zajednice smanjuje troskove trziste elektricne energije Dzos Roberts Josh REScoop GIZ

Energy community eases grid operator’s job

Energy communities are envisaged to return the invested funds to society at the local level. Subsidies are especially favorable for that, Roberts explained. Income is directed to education, infrastructure and aid against energy poverty.

The essence is that the community controls the distribution of the proceeds. In addition, grid operators can communicate more easily with one entity than with a hundred prosumers, Roberts underscored. Prosumers – or buyers-consumers, as they are formally called in Serbia, generate electricity for their own needs.

Pooling together enables providing services in the market, where energy communities can supply and store energy as well as conduct energy efficiency services, among other activities.

It means an entity of such type can ease the evening grid load, in moments of the highest demand, using energy from its batteries. That way, price peak shaving is achieved.

Registration process must be separate from defining activity

As for the procedure, Roberts said registration needs to be only for acknowledgement, rather than for approving specific activities.

“It’s about acknowledging the legal form and it’s about checking about how that legal form ensures compliance with the eligibility criteria. We have found very complex registration procedures. This does not work. It needs to be simple,” he stressed.

There are many activities that energy communities can undertake and they need to be able to enter them gradually, without complex procedures for licenses and permits

Conversely, in some jurisdictions there are simplified ways to get a supplier license. It enables an energy community to enter the activity gradually, instead of having to fulfill the requirements for all segments, even without having a comprehensive business model, the members or a business case, Roberts said.

He mentioned at the same time that one of the basic ideas is promoting inclusiveness.

“It’s already hard to set up an energy community, but it’s even harder to involve members who may have a hard time paying their bills, or have a lot less disposable income. So we found that the best models at the moment are for energy communities either to front the membership fees or for local authorities to pay for this upfront. And in energy sharing, we’re seeing more and more of energy donated to vulnerable households,” he stated.

Energy cooperatives helping improve rural areas from which people are leaving

Energy communities are giving people an opportunity for climate action and to contribute to their community, Roberts said. He added that such projects improve the area where they are conducted, stressing that it is especially important for rural areas from which many people are leaving.

A key point is that they enable participants to control their costs, production, consumption and energy sharing.

 The main challenge in Serbia is how to obtain a grid connection, alongside the matter of accessibility of incentives and loans

Importantly, energy communities are linked to the tradition of cooperatives, for which Serbia used to be known, but there is still much left to do around the legal framework.

There was word at the said gathering with representatives of institutions about the complexity of adjusting the electricity network to the production’s decentralization, as well as about the possibility to streamline the procedure for the establishment of energy communities and their operation.

Serbia is yet to address the accessibility of subsidies and financing, while currently the main issue is how to get grid connection approvals.

Energetsko zadrugarstvo smanjuje troskove trziste elektricne energije GIZ

Enterprise, association or cooperative

The speakers and other participants in the event agreed that the electricity market isn’t complete without energy communities, while that they modernize and democratize it.

When it comes to Serbian regulations, such legal entities have the right to conduct aggregation, but they need a license for it. Notably, aggregators have balancing responsibility, so they need to cover the deviations from the forecasted output.

Energy communities were introduced in the latest version of the Law on Energy. When they become regular in practice, the framework will need to be adjusted gradually to the situation. Citizens, firms and municipal authorities establish energy communities as enterprises, associations or cooperatives.

The bottom line is to enable citizens to take part in the clean energy transition and achieve local environmental, economic and social benefits, as opposed to prioritizing profits. It implies collective ownership, democratic control and reinvestment into the community with the goal of reducing energy poverty and promote energy independence.

The basic technical requirement for members is to have a smart electricity meter.

Elektropionir pioneering agrisolar in Serbia

The event’s organizers gathered the people who achieved the first steps in Serbia – from the Sunčani krovovi (Sunny Roofs) energy cooperative, created in 2019, to Platform for Energy Transition, which participated in uniting three residential buildings in Niš, which have a joint solar power plant and electric vehicle chargers. It is one of the first six prosumers in Serbia in the category of homeowner associations.

The Elektropionir energy cooperative managed through crowdfunding to install two cooperative-owned rooftop solar power systems on the territory of the City of Pirot, on the buildings of a local community council and a cultural center. As part of the Solarna Stara project, on Mt. Stara planina, the two villages receive the income from the sale of surplus electricity.

Srem is set to become the main region in Serbia for community energy

Next, the same organization built the first agrisolar power plant in Serbia. The 20 kV facility is at an organic farm, Organela, near the city of Valjevo.

Another recent undertaking is a rooftop photovoltaic unit on a school in the town of Ruma, envisaged to be the basis for an energy community. In the same area, Elektropionir is working on the installation of several prosumer power plants on house roofs and on aggregating them, inspired by the enthusiasm and the solar system of its member Nenad Maričić.

Owners and neighbors can jointly invest and they will be able to become an energy community and share energy among themselves.

Center for Sustainable Development to integrate string of energy systems of various technologies

Near Ruma, which is in the Srem (Syrmia) region, the City of Sremska Mitrovica and Regional Development Agency Srem have launched a major project. It is for the establishment of renewable energy communities (RECs), which are essentially a subset of citizen energy communities (CECs).

The local authority provided land for research and development. It is next to the regional waste landfill and a wastewater treatment plant. The plan is that the Center for Sustainable Development builds and integrates a string of energy systems.

They would include combined heat and power (CHP) production – cogeneration – from biomass, small wind turbines and a PV plant. The project also involves heat pumps and a storage facility assembled from old batteries.

There would be a facility running on biogas from the landfill within the center, and a magnet electric generator. Residents of the adjacent village of Jarak would be able to join the energy community.

Belgrade Energy Community is focused on equity, solidarity

Another group emerging in community energy is Belgrade Energy Community. It intends to apply a model of collective self-consumption in an urban area, with a focus on trust, equity and solidarity.

Its idea is to enable people to generate, share and use green energy. The plan is to map roofs and consumption and set up the first pilot installations.

According to the Belgrade Energy Community, it will donate 5% of the output to households affected by energy poverty. It consists of a cooperative, a civil society organization, two small enterprises, several prosumers and citizens.

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October 7, 2025
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Slovenia allocates EUR 375 million for sustainable mobility

Slovenia has allocated EUR 835 million from the Climate Fund for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The funds should be used over the period 2025-2028.

The Government of Slovenia has adopted a decree on the allocation plan for the Climate Fund for 2025-2028. The plan follows the key measures from the previous plan for the period 2023-2026 and adds funds for 2027 and 2028. The amount is determined based on expected revenues from emission allowance auctions.

Emission allowances are part of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

The funds will be directed to sectors addressing the main climate challenges, both in mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Measures supporting the green transition and increasing the country’s resilience to climate change will also be supported, according to the Government of Slovenia.

EUR 121 million was allocated for decarbonizing the economy

The largest chunk will go to sustainable mobility – EUR 375 million. The funds will be used for investments in public transport – purchase of new trains and buses, renovation of ticketing and information systems, co-financing of zero-emission vehicles and charging infrastructure, promotion of cycling and walking, and shifting freight transport from roads to rail.

EUR 121 million is designated for decarbonizing the economy. The government will co-finance successful European Union projects, support the introduction of a circular economy and sustainable reporting for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as investments in industrial decarbonization.

Energy renovation of public and residential buildings, measures to reduce energy poverty, and the construction of nearly zero-energy buildings are also part of the allocation plan. There is EUR 111 million for such activities.

EUR 26 million is set for awareness raising and education

EUR 95 million is designated for renewable energy sources. The funds will be used to replace outdated household heating devices with modern ones and heat pumps, as well as for energy storage, geothermal energy, and measures to increase the energy self-sufficiency of buildings.

The Climate Fund will support additional climate change adaptation measures. The activities include reducing flood risks, preserving biodiversity, adaptation in forestry and agriculture, and strengthening the resilience of local communities. The allocated funds amount to EUR 49 million.

Slovenia has envisaged EUR 12 million for international climate change financing and EUR 26 million for awareness raising and education.

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September 15, 2025
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Greece loses EU grant intended for renewable electricity for vulnerable consumers

The ambitious Apollo program, which the Greek government outlined in late 2023, is losing EUR 100 million. The European Union earlier approved the grant for investments in renewable energy and storage, intended to lower energy costs for vulnerable consumers through self-consumption.

The first phase of the Apollo program was envisaged to help vulnerable households. It aimed to support renewable energy projects, through auctions, of 400 MW to 500 MW overall, combined with battery systems.

Each of Greece’s 13 regions, also known as peripheries, would get a green power plant, and eligible consumers who join a local energy community get discounted electricity bills. Therefore, the program is in the form of virtual self-consumption. It is the first of its kind in the region that Balkan Green Energy News tracks.

Apollo fails to take off on time

The scheme was supposed to benefit from an EUR 100 million grant from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). It is implemented via the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Greece 2.0.

However, Apollo was significantly delayed and now the deadlines are considered impossible to achieve, even if they are extended. It means RRF funds are going to be lost. Energypress reported that they have already been removed from the budget.

Namely, the issue is with the batteries. Now their costs would have to be covered entirely by the producers. In turn, they are expected to lock higher prices in Apollo’s auctions, possibly passing them on to end consumers and making the whole initiative less effective at combating energy poverty.

It should be noted that the rest of Apollo remains intact for the time being, despite the setback. The loss of funds concerns household consumers with special tariff A. Funding is still available, in theory, for the other category of vulnerable households, defined by different income criteria.

The entire initiative also aims to lower energy costs for municipal authorities, water utilities and irrigation associations. They haven’t been affected so far.

Standalone battery plants also at risk

Another Greek initiative, for subsidized standalone battery plants, faces very short deadlines. It is eligible for EUR 341 million in RRF funding. In total, projects for 900 MW overall have been selected through three auctions.

The first wave of investors should declare connection readiness this month, so their facilities can become operational by the end of 2025.

HAESS: Selected projects may not receive support

They have complained of a lengthy licensing process and logistical difficulties. The investors asked the Ministry of Environment and Energy for an extension.

In July, the Ministry of Finance submitted a request for the sixth RRF tranche, EUR 2.1 billion in grants, after completing 39 more targets. If it is approved by the administration in Brussels, Greece will have secured EUR 23.4 billion overall, or 65% of allotted funds.

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August 29, 2025
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North Macedonia tackles energy poverty with free inverter air conditioners

North Macedonia’s Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources has invited households in energy poverty to apply for free inverter air conditioners and financial aid to help cover electricity bills. The ministry issued two separate public calls under the 2025 program to assist households classified as vulnerable electricity consumers.

Inverter air conditioners (ACs) with a capacity of up to 3.5 kW and an energy class of at least A+, which improve energy efficiency, will be granted to low-income households. The aid includes free installation.

Eligible households are those whose total net monthly income in 2024 did not exceed MKD 25,000 (around EUR 406) for a single-person household, MKD 31,000 (around EUR 504) for a two-person household, MKD 37,000 (around EUR 601) for a three-person household, and MKD 43,000 (around EUR 699) for households with four or more members.

The budget allocated for inverter ACs for low-income households is MKD 120 million (around EUR 1.95 million), according to the public call.

Households whose only source of income is a pension are also eligible for this type of support, provided that in 2024 their monthly pension did not exceed MKD 15,700 (around EUR 255) for a single-person household, MKD 19,800 (around EUR 322) for a two-person household, and MKD 23,700 (around EUR 385) for households with three or more members. The total budget for this group is MKD 50 million (around EUR 813,000).

The overall budget for inverter ACs is around EUR 2.76 million

Households that have received a subsidy for purchasing an AC or a pellet stove in the past five years, and those connected to a district heating system, are not eligible for free inverter ACs, according to the public call. The application deadline is October 5, 2025.

For financial support to cover electricity bills, eligible households include those with one or more members who have severe intellectual disabilities, the most severe physical disabilities, total vision impairment, or complete hearing impairment.

The application deadline for this public call is the end of August 2025.

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July 23, 2025
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Germany supports Serbia in clean energy supply, environmental protection

The Republic of Serbia and Germany’s KfW Development Bank signed a loan agreement on July 18 for EUR 135 million for the second phase of the credit program Green Transition Development Policy Operation (DPO II).

The signatures underscore the joint activities by Germany and Serbia aimed at a climate-compliant and socially just energy transition, said Chargés d’Affaires ad interim Carsten Meyer-Wiefhausen from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Serbia. “We will continue to be with Serbia on this path and support its reform efforts,” he stressed.

Within the financing for the reforms, the World Bank, French Development Agency (AFD) and the German KfW Development Bank are supporting the Republic of Serbia in conducting its ambitious reform agenda. The goal is to accelerate the transition to energy from clean sources and align with EU standards in environmental protection and climate.

Series of reforms through DPO II

Several successful reforms have been materialized within DPO II, among which:

  1. Promoting investments that are acceptable in environmental and climate terms: Public investments are graded under environmental criteria and with regard to the risk of natural disasters, and with models developed solely for the purpose. The citizens of Serbia benefit from the government’s more sustainable investment decisions.
  2. Enhanced transparency in the public budget: The Government of the Republic of Serbia has committed to publishing information on the execution of the public budget, not only at the end of the fiscal year, but also during the year. It improves the transparency of public expenditures, primarily concerning investments in environmental and climate protection.
  3. Affordable energy prices: The Government of the Republic of Serbia has rolled out temporary targeted subsidies for households with low income, like citizens with low pensions. The share of households receiving such aid has grown from 2.7%, registered in 2021, to last year’s 8%.
  4. Improvement in waste disposal: Aligning with EU standards brings a better approach to sanitary landfills, namely from 42% (2021) to last year’s 50%. The citizens of Serbia benefit from improved waste disposal and a cleaner environment.
  5. Prepared for CBAM: Since this year, large industrial facilities and power plants report their CO2 emissions in line with EU standards. That way Serbia is more prepared for the upcoming full implementation of the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for carbon prices. For instance, the country would be able to price CO2 emissions and charge them.

Financing reforms within climate partnership

Germany’s contribution to financing reforms is an integral part of Germany’s climate partnership with Serbia and the entire Western Balkans. The purpose of the partnership is to support Serbia’s work on achieving its national climate goals and adapting to climate change. The key goal of the partnerships is for the transformation that is necessary to meet climate goals, in the interest of Serbian citizens, to be socially just, a just transition.

This year, Serbia and Germany are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their development cooperation. In the meantime, KfW financed projects worth EUR 2.5 billion in Serbia.

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May 30, 2025
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Croatia sets EUR 25 million in incentives for energy poor households

Croatia has earmarked EUR 25 million for households at risk of energy poverty. They will use the funds for the energy renovation.

The subsidies for households at risk of energy poverty are part of a EUR 652 million package for 2025 launched by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition and the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund (EPEEF or FZOEU). The incentives will be used for renewable energy sources, decarbonization of the district heating system and road traffic, and waste management.

The fund launched a public call for expressions of interest in using subsidies for energy efficiency measures.

Energy poverty is an increasingly important issue because the number of affected households is rising. They are struggling to cover the bills for electricity, gas and heating as the energy transition and energy crisis lifted prices.

Many governments have introduced measures to fix the issue. For example, Slovenia has adopted an action plan for the reduction of energy poverty, which foresees almost EUR 34 million for measures in the period 2024-2026.

Croatia adopted the definition of energy poverty this year

Until this year, Croatia had no official definition of energy poverty. It was included in the changes to the law on energy efficiency.

The legislation defines an energy-poor household as one that doesn’t have access to basic energy services to ensure a basic standard of living and health.

The requirements are suitable heating, hot water, cooling, lighting, and energy to power household appliances. There is a combination of causes of deficits in the said segments. Among them are weak purchasing power, insufficient income, high energy costs, poor energy performances of buildings, and low energy efficiency, according to the public call.

FZOEU invited citizens to fill out a questionnaire and send photos

A European household is said to be at risk of energy poverty if it spends more than 10% of its income on energy.

The funding scheme for natural persons is for measures and investments in energy efficiency and decarbonization of heating and cooling at family houses.

FZOEU seeks to receive information from citizens through questionnaires and photo documentation. The aim is to help the body define the details of a public call for granting subsidies, scheduled to be issued by mid-year.

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May 7, 2025
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Croatia earmarks EUR 1.6 billion for Social Plan for Climate Policy

Croatia plans to achieve an efficient and just green transition by implementing its EUR 1.6 billion Social Plan for Climate Policy.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition has presented the Social Plan for Climate Policy and the European Union’s upcoming Emissions Trading System 2 (EU ETS 2) in Croatia’s capital Zagreb.

The event was organized as part of the process of developing the country’s Social Plan for Climate Policy. According to the ministry, the document outlines the green transition and includes measures and investments that would benefit vulnerable households, micro businesses, and users of transportation services.

The plan is being prepared within the framework of the Social Fund for Climate Policy, which is part of the EU’s Fit-for-55 legislative package. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 from the 1990 level.

The social plan will be funded with proceeds from EU ETS 2

The new EU ETS 2 will cover CO2 emissions from buildings, road traffic, and small firms. Funding for the social plan will be secured from proceeds from the supplementary carbon pricing mechanism.

Minister Marija Vučković noted that after the public debate is over, the Social Plan for Climate Policy needs to be sent to the European Commission for adoption.

“With more than EUR 1.6 billion, our goal is to secure an efficient and just green transition that won’t leave behind the most vulnerable members of our society – households at risk of energy poverty, micro enterprises with limited adaptation capacities, but also the citizens that have difficulties accessing public transportation,” she pointed out.

The ministry is aware of the challenges that the transition carries, so it places special focus on mitigating socio-economic consequences and preventing risks affecting the most vulnerable people, as well as on education.

The plan defines various measures

The plan includes various measures. Some examples are renovating family houses with the worst energy performances, improving the availability of public transport in suburban, rural, and remote areas, subsidizing the purchase of vehicles with zero emissions, and providing direct financial incentives.

Representatives of the ministry Ana Juras and Predrag Božac described the operation and the establishment of the new part of the Emissions Trading System and presented the sectors that it would cover. They also spoke about the first round of measures and investments from the plan.

In another presentation, the audience learned the effect of EU ETS 2 on the prices of fossil fuels, the ministry said.

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