Civil society plays an important role in combating energy poverty

Ms. Tanja Popovicki, PET’s director of operations, participated in the panel discussion “How to respond to energy poverty?” held under the auspices of the conference National dialogue on just green transition in Serbia and energy poverty in Serbia, organized by UNDP on 26 March 2024 in Belgrade. The panel provided a great opportunity to discuss the issue of energy poverty, how it manifests in Serbian society and what are the obstacles to reducing it. Panelists also reflected on some positive examples of local community action in tackling this issue and provided valuable recommendations for all stakeholders dealing with just energy transition.

Speaking about the importance of cooperation between the public sector and civil society in this area, Ms. Popovicki pointed out that “a great deal of gratitude goes to the civil sector for opening this topic to the public.” She stressed the importance of direct communication with the citizens and suggested that civil society can be an invaluable partner to the national and local governments in communicating the importance of energy transition to local communities.

“The role of the civil sector is changing as our consciousness is changing. The civil sector can do research that the public sector cannot afford, it represents an ally on the ground, especially in smaller towns, and can reach out to citizens to bring these topics closer to them,” she emphasized.

On the other hand, there are good examples of using existing mechanisms such as in the city of Užice, where a co-financing scheme for purchasing more energy efficient appliances has been implemented by the local government. Ms. Popovicki underlined that in order to make the most out of these positive mechanisms in reducing energy poverty, more work on changing the consciousness of the people should be done in order to get them interested in participating in such projects.

The panel also included Ms. Svetlana Drakul, who offered the perspective of the local government in Užice and shared key takeaways from her experience working on the project in Užice. Moreover, Ms. Jasminka Young from RES Foundation shared results of their recent study which concluded that more funds should be directed towards the most vulnerable citizens who cannot afford co-financing schemes. Speaking from the perspective of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, Ms. Senida Tahirbegović pointed out the mechanisms Ministry has implemented in providing assistance to the most vulnerable families and the newly-established funding opportunities for supporting the energy transition.