President Milanović: Green transformation must become a way of life and state of consciousness
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended today the opening of the conference “Hrvatska kakvu trebamo – Zelenim razvojem protiv klimatske krize” [The kind of Croatia we need – combating the climate crisis with green development], where he told the audience that green transformation must become a way of life and a state of consciousness.
The conference is jointly organized by the Večernji List daily and the Embassy of the State of Israel 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Republic of Croatia and the State of Israel. The goal of the event is to bring together experts of various backgrounds from both countries, such as scientists, IT experts, policymakers, environmental activists and businesspeople in order to raise awareness among the Croatian public, through lectures and expert discussions, about the dangers posed by the climate crisis and the need to overcome it.
In his address at the conference, President Milanović said that he had immediately taken very seriously matters related to green policies and green transformation. “Croatia is a country that lives off services and tourism, beauty and clean surroundings. We are visited by people whose interests are different than fifty years ago and with much higher criteria. Green transformation must become a way of life and a state of consciousness,” said President Milanović, adding that the Western world is incomparably cleaner, tidier and healthier than it was during his childhood.
“The middle class has swelled, there is pressure on resources and just when we thought the ‘new virtuous world’ was coming, before this war in Ukraine, the European Commission started to backtrack a bit in terms of gas classification and nuclear energy. This has caused nervousness in some European countries. The European Commission realized that we will not all be driving electric cars so fast because that is impossible, and that internal combustion cars will be with us for years to come. If you sum things up and understand them, then you have recognized the problem and you can work on it. If you get carried away with the notion that tomorrow we will all have electric cars, then that won’t happen. A wide range of problems exist and we must accept them,” said the President.
“This is a kind of ‘art’ that requires firm, clear and long-term measures, but also the awareness that results will not be achieved forcefully overnight. If we come to understand that, we will do something useful for the next generation,” said President Milanović, who then announced that he would erect solar panels on the building of the Office of the President in the next year, adding that such panels are “of little use if they do not flood the entire country.”
President Milanović also commented on the use of natural gas, saying that its use will not stop overnight. “Croatia has some sources of gas, they are decreasing and we have to rely on imports. We have an LNG terminal so we are safe, but Germany is not. For twenty years, Germany has based its policy on close ties with Russia, which cannot change in twenty weeks and it will not change. And that is why all these pompous statements – i.e. ‘we are giving up Russian energy’ – that is impossible. One who creates the illusion that this is possible is a political trickster. It will not change overnight,” he said.
In his comments about nuclear energy and the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, 30 kilometres from Zagreb, the President said: “The nuclear power plant, built in the late 1970s, is modern and high-quality. The Slovenes are preparing to construct another block. Is it Croatia’s business? It is! Does that make us nervous? Not me, because I see that there is no other option. After 80 years of nuclear energy, there are not many choices.” In that regard, the President compared two European environmentally conscious countries, Finland – which is building nuclear power plants – and Austria – which is ‘terrified’ of them, and mentioned Germany – which he said must decide whether it wants to use Russian gas or build nuclear power plants.
“The world has changed dramatically in just a few weeks and maybe we should wait a few more months or a year to see how the war in Ukraine will end instead of making decisions immediately and hastily. We need to discuss some things openly. If some consider these issues to be their private affairs, then we don’t understand each other well and that is becoming a political ideology, and I don’t want to deal with it,” President Milanović concluded.
In the remainder of the conference, solutions from Israel and Croatia that should form the basis for future cooperation between the two countries will be presented. The conference is part of Večernji List daily’s project “Resolution Earth,” the largest environmental action programme undertaken in Croatia to date that seeks to raise awareness on the need to protect and preserve the environment.
Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for the Economy Velibor Mačkić was at the conference alongside President Milanović.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek