President says Krk has made huge progress in green transition

President Zoran Milanović on Wednesday opened the 10th Energy Conference on Krk, and, speaking about the green transition of that northern Adriatic island, he said that Krk had made huge progress.

He recalled that as someone who used to visit Krk 40 years ago, he was aware of the situation on the island at the time with regard to the availability of supplies, water and waste separation.

Some 20 years ago, waste separation was introduced on the island, sooner than in some European centres, and in the meantime the island has gone a long way in terms of energy transition and is now a place for family vacationing and modern tourism, he said.

Speaking of problems with waste management in big cities, Milanović said that they were due to lack of infrastructure and logistics.

"That is very difficult to organise in a big city for a number of reasons, just as it is very difficult to organise a system of electric cars in a big city... that won't happen that soon. We will continue having fleets of cars with internal combustion engines for a few more decades. That will be the mission for the next generation," he said.

The energy conference on Krk, focusing on energy transition in the context of climate change and the new European Green Deal, was organised by the Faculty of Economics in Rijeka, the Regional Energy Agency Kvarner and the Eko Kvarner association, under President Milanović's auspices.

Islands are about to experience major changes and the future European Green Deal and the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development 2016-2022 set a climate neutral Europe as their goal , to be achieved by strengthening the economy with green technologies, creating a sustainable economy and reducing pollution, it was said at the conference.

Green economy is Croatia's future and it is important for islands as sustainable development means economic and social growth in line with the eco-systems it occurs in, it was said.

The future of Croatian islands is based on development strategies for the use of renewable energy sources, with simultaneous and timely reduction of harmful effects of global climate change.

Milanović's advisor on energy and climate, Julije Domac, said that Krk was a beacon of energy transition in Europe, mentioning in that context waste separation and projects of photovoltaic power stations and noting that the local community wants to make the island energy independent, which, he said, others should be working towards too.

(Hina)

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