BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The energy transition in Serbia will inevitably lead to a gradual transition to electricity in for example transport and covering heat needs in other sectors, which means the growth of share of electricity in total energy leading to a further increase in electricity consumption, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and the Minister of Mining and Energy, prof. Dr. Zorana Mihajlovic told Trend.
“Serbia is an economically stable country, which, after a temporary slowdown in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, expects economic growth this year, which according to the latest projections should amount to 6.5 percent. In previous years we did a lot to improve our business environment, as evidenced by the Doing Business list of the World Bank, where Serbia has advanced from 186th to 9th place in just a few years,” she said.
Mihajlovic noted that the energy and mining sectors should be among the drivers of economic growth in the coming years, and contribute more significantly to GDP.
“The goal to create a more favorable environment for investments required the adoption of new laws, which, among other things, shortened the procedures for issuing decisions and permits, both in energy and mining. Investments in new energy capacities are also a condition for new investments in all other industries. All projections show that electricity consumption will certainly rise in the coming decades, and, given the process of energy transition, our goal is to ensure, through new investments, that Serbia is energy safe and has enough energy for accelerated economic growth and development,” added the deputy prime minister.
Mihajlovic pointed out that in addition to the laws in the field of energy, the Law on Climate Change was also adopted this year, and the country is working on a national integrated plan for climate and energy until 2050, new strategies for energy development until 2040, as well as a strategy for low-carbon development.
“In this way, the foundation will be laid for the major changes that will take place in our energy sector in the next 20 and 30 years, with the goal of making our development climate-neutral. One of the main goals we have set in that sense is to increase the share of RES in total energy production to 40 percent by 2040, and to at least 50 percent by 2050. We see a possible contribution of investors from Azerbaijan in achieving these goals,” she concluded.
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