A just transition will not be just, and the process of a just transition in the Pljeval region has not even started.
Eco-team announced that these are just some of the findings that the organization and the NGO "Da žavivi selo" came to by analyzing the results of "in-depth interviews" with employees at the Pljevlja Coal Mine and Thermal Power Plant.
"A total of 80 employees in the thermal energy sector, including 50 women, answered questions from the questionnaire and gave their opinion regarding the importance of environmental protection, pollution in the environment, familiarity with the terms "energy transition" and "just transition ", expectations regarding the outcome of the just transition and numerous other topics", announced Andrija Krivokapić from the NGO Eco-team.
The majority of respondents, 86 percent of them, believe that a just transition will have a negative impact on Pljevlja and their families, while more than half of the interviewees (56 percent) have no desire to be part of the process and thus contribute to its success.
"The presented results of in-depth interviews with employees in the thermo-energy chain indicate the distrust that citizens have in the process of a just transition, which can be attributed to the insufficient political prioritization of this topic. "Furthermore, the lack of a vision for the future economic development of the northernmost Montenegrin municipality, the indecision and disagreement that prevails among decision-makers, creates fear among citizens and the attitude that Pljevlja has no future without coal," adds Krivokapić.
66 percent of the respondents perceive that Pljevlja has no future without the Coal Plant and Thermal Power Plant, while 52 percent of them cannot imagine their future in Pljevlja with the shutdown of these economic entities.
"In the end, the fear that reigns among the citizens of Pljevlja is absolutely justified, when one takes into consideration the long-term mining technology, which is applied in this region and the cultural identification with it, the risk of losing jobs and potential difficulties in other professions, misunderstanding of the process of just transition and its positive effects. In this regard, it is high time that the entire public, starting from the authorities at all levels, the academic community, the civil sector, employees, citizens and all other interested parties, should be involved in the process of a just transition with the aim of adopting key plans for the economic recovery of Pljevlja , educating citizens regarding the positive aspects of a just transition and building trust among the actors of the process, so that the process would be truly fair and no one would be forgotten," Krivokapić points out.
The Eco-team reminds that recently, in their capacity as coordinators of the Platform for a Just Transition, they submitted to the Government the Initiative for the preparation of the Just Transition Plan for the Municipality of Pljevlja. The initiative, they say, is a response to the increasingly alarming socio-economic situation in that municipality, which is worsening due to its dependence on the coal industry.
The implementation of "in-depth interviews" with employees in the thermal energy sector in Pljevlja was made possible through the project "Steps towards a just transition in Pljevlja", which is implemented by Eco-team in cooperation with the NGO "Da žavivi selo", which is supported within the grant scheme "Public Advocacy", as part of the program "Supported = Empowered". The program "For Support To emPowerment" (FSTP-For Support To emPowerment) is implemented by the Fund for Active Citizenship - FAKT, in partnership with the Foundation for Local Community Development "Slagalica" from Croatia, with the financial support of the European Union Ministry of Public Administration.
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