Serbia to target emission cuts of 34% by 2030

With its upcoming Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, Serbia will aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by the end of the decade, Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović said. She added that decreasing final energy consumption by 0.7% is a realistic goal.

Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia Dubravka Đedović said Serbia would declare its targets for renewables, energy efficiency and emission cuts before the end of the year by adopting the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, together with the Energy Development Strategy.

“As for decreasing the harmful gas emissions from 1990 levels, our goal will be to decrease the emissions by 34% by 2030 and by 52% by 2040. In the energy efficiency segment, we consider it realistic to cut final energy consumption by an average 0.7% per year,” she said in an online address at the ReGreen conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Bloomberg Adria organized the event.

Serbia aims to triple its renewable electricity production capacity from the current 550 MW within several years, according to Đedović

Of note, scenarios in the draft national plan – INECP or NECP – determined that cuts in annual emissions can reach 34.2% to 44.4% by the end of the decade. Serbia managed to achieve 29% in 2020.

The government plans to triple the capacity for the production of electricity from renewable sources from the current 550 MW within several years, according to Đedović. She highlighted the importance of reforming state-owned energy companies such as coal and power producer Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) for Serbia to be energy independent and secure supply.

The minister pointed out that companies and citizens need to participate in the energy transition and that success depends on the dialogue between the public and private sectors.

Last month, at the Belgrade Energy Forum, Đedović said a 45% target for the share of renewables in energy production in 2030 is realistic, while the initial figures for the document were between 49% and 59%. She called the upcoming goals “ambitious but realistic.”