17 Apr International Conference “Energy and Climate Challenges of the Republic of Croatia” was held in Dubrovnik, 13 – 14 April 2023
The International Conference “Energy and Climate Challenges in the Republic of Croatia” was held from April 13 to 14, 2023 in Dubrovnik. The Conference was held within the framework of the “Energy and Climate Change” Programme, which was financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) for the period 2014-2021.
At the opening of the Conference on April 13, introductory speeches were given by Nikola Dobroslavić, Prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Mayor of the City of Dubrovnik Mato Franković, Deputy Head of the Diplomatic Mission of the Kingdom of Norway in the Republic of Croatia Homma Latif, and the Ambassador of Iceland to the Republic of Croatia H. E. Kristín Aðalbjörg Árnadóttir. In conclusion, Minister Šime Erlić emphasized the different models and possibilities of project financing in the context of EU funds and the EEA Financial Mechanism and pointed out that the goal of the Conference is to connect prefects, mayors and other institutions with interested organizations from Iceland and Norway, in the field of energy.
Afterwards, the director of the National Energy Administration of Iceland, Halla Hrund Logadóttir, and the deputy director of the Ministry of Oil and Energy of the Kingdom of Norway, Øivind Johansen, presented best practices, examples and plans for the next period.
In general, the emphasis was placed on reducing CO2 emissions, especially in the field of energy and renewable energy sources, which was discussed by key speakers, representatives of energy institutions from the Republic of Croatia, Norway and Iceland as well as the officials of cities and counties in Croatia where active work is being done on the implementation of projects contracted as part of the “Energy and Climate Change” Programme. Additionally, the complementary Programmes and projects that have been realized as part of the EEA and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism were displayed by the representatives of the Programme Operator from Croatia and other engaged EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanism beneficiary countries.
Moreover, on April 13, a visit to the project “Installation of seawater heat pumps for the needs of Dubrovnik city swimming pool” was organized, which is being successfully implemented by the City of Dubrovnik. The total value of the project is EUR 1,457,557.37, of which grants amount to EUR 1,238,923.76, and EUR 218,633.61 is the amount of own co-financing.
On April 14, the Conference began with a presentation by the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar director Dražen Jakšić and an interesting panel attended by prefect Igor Andrović, deputy prefect Mihael Jurić, mayors Mato Franković, Dario Hrebak and Damir Mandić, and the president of the board of the Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency Marijan Krpan. In the second part of the day, the director of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration, Bjørn Aulie, gave a presentation, which served as an introduction to the presentations of experiences and results by Programme Operators from Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia that operate in the field of energy, climate and the environment. At the very end, the gathered participants took part in interactive discussions and exchanged experiences and best practices in the fields of solar energy, sea energy and geothermal energy, after which the Conference officially ended.
Below you can find the presentations according to the order of the speakers:
1st day of Conference
Director of the National Energy Administration of Iceland – Orkustofnun, Mrs Halla Hrund Logadóttir
Deputy director of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of the Kingdom of Norway, Mr Øivind Johansen
2nd day of Conference
Director of the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, Mr Dražen Jakšić
Programme Director of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Mr Bjørn Aulie
Programme Operators within countries:
HR – Energy and Climate, Mrs Stella Arneri
PL – Climate, Mrs Małgorzata Karska
