Serbian government sets up council for energy sector decarbonization

The Government of Serbia has established a council tasked with giving proposals and opinions regarding the operation of coal-fired power plants and replacement facilities fueled by all energy sources by 2050.

After the decision of the Ministry of Mining and Energy to stop the construction of the Kolubara B thermal power plant, this is another move in an effort to decarbonize the energy sector. Coal-fired power plants, which operate within state power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), produce about two thirds of electricity in Serbia.

The council will be chaired by ministers Zorana Mihajlović and Irena Vujović

The council will analyze possible measures and activities aimed at implementing decarbonization and look over the revitalization of existing power plants, which should secure the sustainability of electricity production, Nova ekonomija reported.

The council will be chaired by Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlović, with Minister of Environmental Protection Irena Vujović as vice chairwoman. The members of the council are Siniša Mali, the Minister of Finance, representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), the Ministry of Labor, as well as members of the EPS trade union and trade unions of the Kostolac and Kolubara mine basins.

The council will also include members of SANU, as well as representatives of workers and civil society

The council will send a request to the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue in order to conduct the procedure of electing two representatives of civil society organizations as members of the council.