For the energy transition of Serbia, more than 20 billion euros are needed at the moment, and this money cannot come only from the state budget, nor can it be stimulated by commercial banks or foreign funds, but new financing models must be found, such as green bonds, pointed out Siniša Mitrović, head of the Center for Circular Economy of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
On the eve of the second Look up regional conference on Kopaonik, he pointed out that due to the consequences of climate change, Serbia had a direct loss of almost eight billion euros since 2000. As he said, private capital should be motivated to raise money, especially for important infrastructure projects, PKS reported.
“I have to remind you that today we do not recycle pharmaceutical, textile or battery waste. This is a great chance for new investments for what are called green jobs,” Mitrović said.
Opening the conference, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Jelena Tanasković pointed out that seven basic goals have been defined, which cover the area of green transition.
The goals are to increase irrigated areas, land management and afforestation, subsidies to farmers on the way to a green transition, construction of wastewater treatment plants and sewage networks, harmonization of regulations with EU requirements, continuous development of organic production, as well as further improvement of plant protection.
Greek economist, former finance minister of that country Yanis Varoufakis pointed out that in Europe we have the European Investment Bank, which is six times bigger than the World Bank, but it is still not big enough to pay for the green transition.
The focus of this year’s conference is current challenges in the field of energy and ecology, which will be discussed by more than 30 panelists in six panels.
The main topics are sustainability, decarbonization of the energy sector, resistance to climate change, circular economy, green businesses and financing of green businesses, survival of micro, small and medium enterprises in the supply chain in the competitive European market.
The two-day “Look up” conference takes place on the 6th and 7th. December in Hotel Gorski on Kopaonik.
