Serbia faces serious energy and environmental challenges coming primarily from a long-term dependence on old coal-fired power plants and a lack of investment in modern technologies and renewable energy sources. Although strategies against climate change and the transition to green energy are formally accepted, in practice Serbia continues to rely on inefficient and dirty lignite, which causes enormous air pollution, threatening not only the quality of the environment but also the health of the population. Documents such as the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (INEKP) remain rather declarative, without concrete measures, clear deadlines and sufficient budgets. This unclear situation also threatens the future of thousands of workers in the mining sector and regions dependent on coal. Moreover, energy policy and climate goals are at odds — while striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the energy sector is trying to maintain supply stability, often at the cost of improvisations such as mixing mud and fuel oil with low-quality coal to keep thermal power plants running — an approach that resulted in thermal power plant outages and the need to purchase expensive imported energy in the winter of 2021/2022. Although Serbia has significant potential for improving energy efficiency and developing renewables, the current approach is more like “making plans for planning” than a real transition to a sustainable energy system that would allow the country to move closer to climate neutrality by 2050.
The article by Mirjana Stevanović was originaly published with the support of the project Enhancing the Capacities of Serbian Independent Media in Informing about the Green Transition Challenges by Demostat. You can read the original version in Serbian here.
