In the midst of the global crisis, the challenge faced by Montenegro due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Ministry of Economy initiated the procedure for the adoption of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Energy, it was announced from Eko-team.
"Given the non-transparency of the entire process of passing the new law, as well as the fact that the public discussion is ongoing and will last until April 30, representatives of civil society submitted their comments on the draft law," the Eco-team press release states.
They reminded that at the end of 2019, a working group was formed to prepare the Law on Amendments to the Law on Energy.
"At the same time, the non-governmental organization Eko-team, supported by two other organizations - Ozone and the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds of Montenegro - joined this process as a member of the working group. From then until the opening of the public debate on the draft of the new of the law, the Eco-Team was not allowed to participate in the meetings of the working group in a timely manner, which sent the Ministry of Economy a clear message that it was not interested in democratic civil processes. Instead, one of the country's key laws was prepared in cooperation with selected energy entities. the entire process of participative decision-making, which, at least it seemed, was aimed at at the end of last year with the formation of a working group", announced the Eco-team.
They add that the law in question is an opportunity for Montenegro to solve the long-standing problem of non-transparent development and decision-making in the energy sector, which in recent years has proven to be extremely harmful to the entire society and the environment.
"First of all, it refers to the preferential production of electricity in small hydroelectric power plants, where all the burden of electricity production is borne by the citizens of Montenegro, who have to live with devastated rivers and a destroyed environment," announced the Eco-team.
"Many national civil society organizations, supported by the World Conservation Organization (WWF), have long been calling on the Government to remove incentives for energy production in small hydropower plants. The process of drafting a new law on energy is an opportunity to finally abolish these harmful incentives, but despite all the evidence that has been presented in recent months by civil society and eminent economic experts, the government shows no will to change that system," said Eko. - The team
Because of all the above, Eco-Team, as a representative of civil society organizations in the obstructed working group and for the purpose of preserving the interests of the citizens of Montenegro, sent comments on the draft law.
Thus, in the comments, among other things, it is stated that it is necessary to abolish incentives for the production of electricity from renewable sources because the practice so far has shown that they cause multimillion-dollar damage to part of society and the state and benefit only a handful of private investors.
"Through the new legal solution, it is necessary to clearly prescribe that the development of energy activities should be for the purpose of protecting the public interest, which represents the common, general interest of all members of a socio-political community. The production of energy from renewable sources must not endanger sustainable development and environmental protection, which predominantly refers to the construction projects of small hydropower plants, for which the practice of less than ten years in Montenegro has shown a number of negative and harmful consequences for the population, the environment and overall all consumers", appealed from Eco-Team.
They added that it is time for the relevant institutions to devote themselves to designing a system that will ensure an environmentally acceptable energy future of the country in an economically just and socially just way.
"We support civil society organizations in their efforts to fight for a fairer and more transparent law that takes care of nature, and we invite the Government of Montenegro and the Ministry of Economy to consider and adopt them, all for the purpose of the future sustainable development of the state that puts citizens first, their well-being and preservation of the environment", announced WWF Adria.
The Eco-team added that "big changes are ahead of us, which will certainly have a far-reaching impact on all of us".
"It remains to be seen whether the Ministry of Economy and the Government will finally consider all the arguments presented to them and make a significant step forward in favor of the entire society. Only in this way will Montenegro be able to start realizing its dreams of an ecological state, a country where both people and nature prosper." the announcement concludes.
Bonus video:
