Montenegro must take a more serious approach to environmental policies and sustainable development, said the country's president, Jakov Milatović, adding that he is not satisfied with the results so far.
Milatović, as announced by his cabinet, spoke today at the United Nations (UN) summit on climate change COP29 in Baku, on a panel dedicated to the financing of green policies.
In his statement after the panel, he said that the establishment of the Fund for Sustainable Development is a good example that Montenegro has implemented in that direction in the previous period.
"I think that in this way we have made a good step forward in the area of innovative platforms for financing green policies. We did that last year together with the UN Office," said Milatović.
According to him, the Government of Montenegro allocated significant funds as initial capital.
"Then, together with numerous donor countries and the European Union, we took a further step in the direction of financing green policies," added Milatović.
As stated in the announcement, he said that he presented it as an example of how even a relatively small developing country, like Montenegro, can contribute and set a good example for other countries in the world in the field of financing green sustainable policies.
"I think that this example was well received by all participants, and I am very pleased with that," said Milatović.
He recalled that he had previously said that ecological Montenegro is the basis of its statehood.
"I really think that all decision-makers need to take a more serious and responsible approach, especially in the coming period and in part of the European agenda, but above all for our own sake, with policies that are ecological and policies that are sustainable," said Milatović.
He said that "we inherited Montenegro from our ancestors, and that we must leave it as such to the generations that will come after us".
"This beautiful, sustainable, and we, as the current generation, must do everything to keep it that way. That's why, frankly, I'm not satisfied with the results so far," said Milatović.
He added that it seems to him that all this is more on paper than it is actually applied in practice.
"You know that chapter 27 is very demanding, because it includes a lot of legislation that must be harmonized in the coming period," said Milatović.
As he said, harmonization regarding the way of waste management, the way of waste water management and the general approach to the process of recycling and circular economy is a big challenge in the coming period.
Milatović said that the budgets for the next three years will show how seriously the many challenges that are currently present in the field of ecology and sustainable development policy are being approached in Montenegro.
"As president, I set a personal example and I would like all other decision-makers to take this part of social development very seriously," concluded Milatović.
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