Mandić: Montenegro is determined to improve its response to climate change

Montenegro is feeling the effects of climate change through changes in weather patterns, said the President of the Assembly Andrija Mandić and said that the state is determined to improve the response to these phenomena in concrete measures.

The Assembly announced that Mandić, during the 17th Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of Small European Countries, gave a presentation on the topic "Climate change - economic opportunity for small countries?".

Reminding that climate change represents one of the most serious global challenges we face, Mandić said that Montenegro, as a small country, feels the effects of these changes through changes in weather patterns.

He stated that this refers to frequent droughts, floods and other disasters that affect key economic sectors, including tourism, agriculture and energy.

"Precisely because of these challenges, Montenegro is determined to improve its response to climate change, through concrete measures. "EPCG plays a key role in this process, because the energy sector is one of the main pillars of our economy, but also a key lever for the fight against climate change," Mandic said.

As he added, in the last few years, EPCG has taken significant steps towards the transformation of the Montenegrin energy sector.

"The main focus is on the development of renewable energy sources, because our country represents indescribable wealth for the production of electricity," said Mandić.

He highlighted the efforts related to the construction of new solar power plants in the form of the "Solari" project, wind power plants Gvozd 1 and Gvozd 2, as well as plans for the modernization of existing energy capacities.

"First of all, the first hydroelectric power plants in our country - Perućica through the new eighth unit, in order to increase their energy efficiency," said Mandić.

He added that EPCG, through the Solari project, implemented an innovative and visionary policy of "produce where you spend", which, as he stated, enabled citizens to become producers and thus earn from the production of electricity at the solar power plants that were installed on their houses.

"Projects to install solar panels on the roofs of state institutions, public companies, but also numerous uncultivable areas, of which there are an extremely large percentage, especially in the central region of Montenegro, are the beginning of a broader national program of investment in green energy," Mandic said.

He added that, when it comes to the legislative framework, the parliament has already adopted a number of laws that regulate environmental protection and encourage the use of renewable energy sources.

"Our goal is to continue improving legislation in accordance with European standards, because climate change knows no borders and requires a global as well as a local response," concluded Mandić.