Decarbonization and investment in renewable energy sources are in the interest of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, not just political elites and related lobbies. This is the message of the organizers of the round table on the topic “Sustainable energy turnaround through the prism of climate change and increasing the participation of renewable energy sources.”
On Thursday, December 23rd, 2021, the Center for Environment and the International Association of Scientists, in cooperation with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Banja Luka have organized a round table within the Eco BiH project funded by the European Union.
This round table aims to inform, educate and initiate a constructive dialogue between scientists, government representatives, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties.
The focus of the round table was on the discussion about renewable energy sources, the situation, problems and perspectives, and on the Draft Law on Renewable Energy Sources of the Republic of Srpska. You can watch a short video with the statements of some of the participants of the round table on the link, and you can read the conclusions below.
Conclusions and recommendations from the round table “Sustainable energy turnaround through the prism of climate change and increasing the participation of renewable energy sources.”
1. The climate crisis is not bypassing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Harmful consequences, such as extremely rainy and dry periods, are already taking their toll. A strategic approach to climate change is needed by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which needs to be harmonized with current events and the possibilities of wide application of renewable energy sources.
2. Decarbonization, i.e., the closure of coal-fired power plants, is an inevitable process that will not happen “overnight,” and in parallel, BiH needs to implement an accelerated pace of energy transition, which means switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
3. The energy transition of Bosnia and Herzegovina to renewable energy sources is a demanding process that should be inclusive, fair, socially sensitive and stimulating for all categories of consumers and energy producers. In the energy transition process, consumers should no longer be just consumers but active producers and consumers of energy – which means that they are aware of the production, savings, and energy consumption in their households.
4. Energy poverty in BiH is already a pronounced problem for socially vulnerable categories of the population and a threat to BiH society. The third EU energy package includes direct assistance to reduce energy poverty by defining lower energy prices for socially disadvantaged household customers. It is necessary to define assistance measures as soon as possible and provide direct financial support for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy projects for own production and consumption for these categories of society.
5. Unrealistically low electricity prices have led to two major problems for consumers, namely:
• low level of awareness of the need to save, i.e., reduce energy consumption and
• Lack of interest in own production from renewable energy sources.
The announced increase in the price of electricity could lead consumers to invest in their production from RES and energy efficiency measures, which leads to sustainable energy use and reduced energy waste.
6. The low interest of citizens is also present due to governments’ current unincentive policies for civic energy projects. The new legislative framework in renewable energy sources should primarily focus on incentives and administrative incentives for civil energy projects instead of incentives for commercial production.
7. Integration of smaller renewable energy producers with the development of a decentralized distribution system and energy storage system will reduce losses in the distribution network and the load on the transmission network, which can contribute to greater sustainability and stability of the energy system.
8. The use of new technologies such as nanomaterials in applying renewable energy sources can significantly improve the efficiency and extend the life of energy production, storage and consumption systems.
9. The current policy of investing in production from renewable energy sources, such as hydropower and biomass energy, has seriously damaged natural resources such as river and forest ecosystems. Renewable energy sources should be based on sustainability principles to preserve nature and produce energy for the needs of present and future generations.
For any additional questions, please contact us at emails viktor.bjelic@czzs.org, majda.ibrakovic@czzs.org and gvero.petar@gmail.com.