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Zagreb - The Sabor's Committee on Environment and Nature Protection on Thursday discussed climate and energy policies in the context of updating the Integral National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for the period from 2021 to 2030.
Committee chair Sandra Benčić said the document provided an overview of the energy system, the situation regarding energy and climate policies and an overview of national targets for each of the five key dimensions of the energy union - energy security, internal energy market, energy efficiency, decarbonisation, and research, innovation and competitiveness as well as appropriate policies and measures for the accomplishment of these goals.
The goal of updating NECP, which dates back to 2019, is predictability and mobilisation of the necessary investments to achieve the common ambition of climate neutrality and fair transition, along with energy security and affordable prices, she said.
Turning to projects that bring innovations
The head of the Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry's Energy Directorate, Kristina Čelić, commented on individual elements of NECP, stressing that it was aimed at defining measures and rules of conduct regarding energy and climate resilience and accomplishment of goals from the European Green Deal.
"The plan's 100 measures show what can be accomplished, the plan shows the financial aspect, taking account of competitiveness, and more than half the measures, 57, are about decarbonisation," Čelić said, adding that Croatia should turn to projects that bring innovations.
In that context she mentioned the hydrogen strategy and the need to promote the consumption of hydrogen as a green energy source, as well as geothermal energy and other renewable energy sources.
Speaking about energy efficiency, Čelić underlined the importance of measures for both the energy renovation of the housing stock and for its structural renovation.