ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - An online international conference on climate change was held in Kaštela, outside Split, on Tuesday to raise public awareness of the need to strengthen Croatia's capacity to deal with this matter.

The conference was organised by RERA, the public institution for coordination and development of Split-Dalmatia County as one of 11 partners in the EU project "Change We Care" between Croatia and Italy.

Croatia and Italy are to prepare joint projects to alleviate the consequences of climate change and include them in the new EU programming period 2021-2027.

Branka Pivčević Novak of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development stressed the importance of developing the first national action plan on climate change, saying that the modernisation of the national meteorological network in Croatia was very important.

Speaking online from Italy, the "Change We Care" project leader Davide Bonaldo said the project envisaged evaluating the current situation and newer trends in physical and ecological processes along the Adriatic coast, making projections of scenarios in climate change conditions, and identifying measures to adapt to climate change in five pilot areas.

Those are Vransko Jezero lake, the Neretva river delta, the Jadro river and the Kaštela Bay in Croatia, and Mula di Muggia and the Po river delta in Italy.

The end goal of the project is to establish adaptation measures to deal with climate change, Bonaldo said, adding that local communities would benefit the most.

Climate change affects the low-lying coastal area, which is urbanised, as well as the cultural heritage and tourism, so the goal of this plan is the implementation of an integral approach to the management of the Kaštela coastal area in the context of climate change, said Professor Martina Baučić of the Split Faculty of Civil Engineering.

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ZAGREB, 26 March, 2021 - A HRK 12.5 million EU grant agreement for the construction of a composting plant in the southern town of Metković was signed on Friday by Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić and the director of the local Čistoća waste management company, Tomislav Jakić.

The project, which will be implemented as part of the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020, is worth more than HRK 24 million, of which 50% is co-financed by the EU.

Ćorić said that the composting plant would serve Metković as well as Opuzen and neighbouring communities.

The plant's annual capacity is 5,000 tonnes and it guarantees that biodegradable waste in the River Neretva valley will be managed in the best way possible, said the minister.

Dubrovnik-Neretva County head Nikola Dobroslavić said that Metković was the most advanced local government unit in terms of waste management.

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ZAGREB, 17 March, 2021 - A recycling yard worth HRK 3 million and co-financed by EU funds has been constructed in Novi Marof, and during his visit on Wednesday, Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said that the northwestern part of Croatia has progressed more than other parts of the country in terms of waste management.

The recycling yard in Novi Marof was co-financed from the Cohesion Fund in the amount of more than HRK 2.5 million, while the entire project is worth over HRK 3 million.

Novi Marof Mayor Siniša Jenkač underscored that the recycling yard was a continuation of the policy of efficient and responsible waste management in that northern Croatian city.

"In addition, the remediation of our landfill Čret is currently in its final phase, and it cost a total of HRK 17.5 million, including 30 years of monitoring," he said, adding that they had also procured waste sorting containers.

The remediation of the Čret landfill was co-financed with HRK 13.3 million of EU funds.

According to Jenkač, when it comes to total financing with European money, about HRK 40 million has been invested in waste management in the area of Novi Marof.

(€1 = HRK 7.6)

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ZAGREB, 6 March, 2021 - In the last year, the Green Phone Network received about 2,500 calls from Croatian citizens about environmental issues in the country, and most of those reports referred to waste.

Every citizen of the Republic of Croatia may report an environmental problem or request information on the number 072 123 456, the network which includes nine environmentalist associations, says on its web site.

One in four calls about inappropriate waste disposal 

In 2020, most of the calls were warnings about the inappropriate waste disposal (every one in four calls), while class about construction detrimental to the environment made up 10.89% of those 2,500 calls. 

Citizens complained about a poor air quality (10.41%) and about damage done to the greenery (9.61%).

Also some of the calls were about noise, traffic, environmental issues concerning forests, soil and animals.

After the establishment of the first Green Phone in 1992, other associations decided to launch the same service.

Thus in September 1999, with the financial support of USAID (United States Agency for International Development), Green Phone networks were established by seven associations for environmental protection: Zelena Akcija from Zagreb, Eko Pan from Karlovac, Environmental Society Žmergo from Opatija, Zelena Istra from Pula, Sunce from Split, Kap Života from Gospić, and the Society for the Protection of Nature og Slavonija i Baranja from Osijek.

In 2003, within the project "Strengthening the Green Phone Network", financed by the European Commission, five other environmental organisations joined the Network, and one in 2007. One member left the Network in 2010, so it now comprises nine associations: Zelena Akcija from Zagreb, Eko Pan from Karlovac, Environmental Society Žmergo from Opatija, Zelena Istra from Pula, Sunce from Split, ZEO Nobilis from Čakovec, Zeleni Osijek from Osijek, Eko Zadar from Zadar, and Krka from Knin.

The aim of the Green Phone is to encourage citizens to actively participate in environmental protection and to encourage the competent institutions to solve environmental problems more efficiently.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Greenpeace activists planted ten trees in Zagreb's Martićeva Street on Friday in cooperation with the 1POSTOZAGRAD initiative to encourage local government to plant more trees and to point to the importance of green areas.

The activists brought a three-metre tree prop with the message "Three, four, now!" whereby Greenpeace joined a collective tree-planting week.

They also presented a new Greenpeace initiative called #ZazeleniGrad (For a green city), which focuses on green areas and supports civic initiatives fighting for the preservation of existing and creation of new ones, just as 1POSTOZAGRAD (1 percent for the city) is doing.

"Our cities, including Zagreb, lack greenery. This has become especially evident in the current circumstances, when we feel a stronger need to stay outdoors and in nature. We wish to encourage a stronger development of the so-called green infrastructure, which contributes to biodiversity, reduces the effect of urban heat islands, ensures shade, reduces stress and generally improves people's psychophysical condition," said Ivan Gregov, leader of the #ZazeleniGrad campaign.

The local elections in May will be an opportunity to prioritise green areas in cities, he added.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The Administrative Court in Rijeka issued a non-final verdict and rejected the claim of the Green Action and Green Istria associations, which sought to revoke the environmental permit for the coal-fired Plomin 1 thermal power plant issued by the Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry.

As the court reported, when announcing the verdict, which can be appealed against to the High Administrative Court, it was said that the administrative dispute did not decide whether the planned operation of Plomin 1 was inconsistent with the strategies and plans of the HEP power company and the Croatian government.

According to the explanation, those issues are not subject to consideration when determining the conditions for issuing an environmental permit. The court determined that the decision was made in accordance with the relevant regulations on the issuance of environmental permits for existing plants. It also established that the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development correctly and fully established the decisive facts in the administrative procedure, with valid application of substantive law.

Bernard Ivčić of the Green Action said on Friday that the associations would, after receiving the explanation of the verdict, consider the possibilities and probably file an appeal.

ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - Economic losses in the EU due to climate change extremes amount to €12 billion annually and energy efficiency can help adjust to climate change and create jobs, not lose them, President Zoran Milanović said on Friday after meeting with representatives of Croatia's regional energy agencies.

The meeting was held at the Bračak Energy Centre in Zabok on the occasion of World Energy Efficiency Day, observed on 5 March to raise awareness of the need to reduce energy consumption and sustainable energy use, the president's office said in a press release.

In the past 13 years, together with counties, towns and municipalities, Croatia's regional energy agencies have been implementing sustainable energy use projects. Investment in clean energy exceeds HRK 1 billion.

They successfully participate in many EU projects for the energy-efficient renovation of public infrastructure, developing new business models and financial instruments, which makes them Croatia's energy transition pioneers, it was said at the meeting.

President Milanović said there was no successful adjustment to climate change without energy efficiency and that the climate crisis was potentially the biggest global crisis of the future.

"The experience in achieving renewable and efficient energy and climate protection in Croatia, which regional energy agencies already have, is a good example to all in Croatia at local as well as national level that we can and must do even better when it comes to energy efficiency. Our children must go to better schools, the buildings we live in should be both safe and energy-efficient, our cities deserve to become smart in terms of energy," he said after the meeting.

"The economic losses in the EU due to weather and climate extremes already amount to €12 billion annually. Energy efficiency is what can help us to adjust to climate change, not to lose jobs but create them, raising the standard of living of us all," he added.

Croatia has five regional energy agencies which employ 70 experts while the EU has 350, some of which have been active more than 40 years.

There are four million green jobs in the EU today, including 1.4 million in the production of energy from renewables and over 900,000 in energy efficiency activities, said Julije Domac, the president's energy and climate advisor.

"That's what we should focus on. Croatia has the know-how, as evidenced by the fact that Croatian energy agencies regularly coordinate European development projects, provide services to the European Commission and are active across the European Union. Today it's important that each of us know that energy efficiency means better for them, for Croatia, and then for Earth," he added.

ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - Zagreb should in two to three years get its first 20 fuel cell buses in public transport, an investment worth €25 million, it was announced on Thursday at the signing of a cooperation agreement between INA and the City of Zagreb on the introduction of hydrogen in public city transport.

President of the Management Board at the ZET city transportation company, Ljuba Romčević-Žgela, said that the agreement was between the City of Zagreb and Ina, as well as the City and ZET, on further investments in alternative fuels, that is, the purchase of hydrogen buses.

The signatories of the agreement have undertaken to invest in alternative fuels. More specifically, it is about the procurement of 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses, and the construction of a hydrogen fuelling station at ZET's depot in Podsused is also planned.

Žgela expects that the project will be implemented in the next two to three years, with the first year being spent on the preparation of technical documentation.

Head of City Office for Economy, Energy and Environment Protection, Mirka Jozić, underscored that this was the first project to start mass application of hydrogen in Zagreb and Croatia.

"We are creating a new market for this energy source of the future. The estimated value of 20 hydrogen buses and supporting infrastructure is €25 million, and this will be financed by non-repayable EU funds," she said.

According to her, ZET's bus fleet today consists of 441 buses with an average age of 10.9, which cover a total of 29 million kilometres a year. Over the past few years, she said, the fleet has been modernised, so a good number of buses run on gas.

INA Management Board member Niko Dalić said that hydrogen was a clean fuel, with no harmful gases, and that hydrogen vehicles did not make noise. He is satisfied that ZET and Zagreb have recognised the advantage of hydrogen.

All too often we hear about the dangerous levels of disposable plastic causing harm to the world's seas and oceans. With the EU and the EC finally taking a stronger stance against this wanton destruction of the environment by passing various laws on the use and disposal of plastic, as well as putting its foot down in regard to member states and their respective recycling policies, including Croatia, it seems we are (albeit slowly) finally getting somewhere.

Of course, Croatia is a lot slower than others, but some are making an excellent example of themselves through their own practices.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of April, 2019, the implementation of this initiative has actively involved the hotel's employees, suppliers, partners, as well as its guests and local residents who enjoy the hotel's numerous services on a daily basis.

Hotel Adriatic, which is part of the Maistra family, has decided to replace all disposable plastic items with alternatives, leading it to become the very first hotel in the Republic of Croatia to actively advocate for a cleaner working environment and a holiday without the use of disposable plastic waste, as was announced on Monday by this respected Rovinj hotel company.

"As the first hotel in Croatia with no disposable plastic, Hotel Adriatic aims to be the leader in innovation and sustainability and invites all of its employees to work responsibly in a way that will enable our guests to actively participate in this ecological action and a unique experience of the Adriatic sea," said Maistra's Tomislav Popović.

Last year, Hotel Adriatic started using substitute paper straws instead of the classic plastic ones, and by June this year, the hotel will cease using as much as eighty percent of disposable plastic products. By the end of the year, it aims to have completely removed it from use in all of its accommodation units, including its bars and restaurants.

By the end of 2019, Hotel Adriatic will only use biological cleansing agents and support cooperation with suppliers whose products are produced from natural, biological, ecologically acceptable and/or recycled materials.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If you're interested in how Croatia takes care of its beautiful environment, give Total Eco Croatia a follow, or see what initiatives, laws and movements there are in place in Croatia here.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of April, 2019, this past weekend, as part of a socially responsible project, the popular JYSK retail chain held a voluntary action to plant 10,000 European beech seedlings in two zones in the Medvednica Nature Park in Sljeme, above Zagreb, which have been most adversely affected by the weather's elements over last few years.

"We got together on Sljeme so that JYSK's volunteers, together with citizens, planted 10,000 beech seedlings donated by JYSK as part of our action. We're renewing the area in two zones of the Medvednica Nature Park, which died a couple of years ago after stormy weather.

''In addition to helping financially as a company through such projects, we want to help and in a different way to keep track of nature for the next generation,'' said Vesna Kukić Lončarić for JYSK Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

The project was realised in cooperation with Croatian forests (Hrvatske šume), and the afforestation was carried out in the area around PD Risnjak within the Medvednica Nature Park. Despite the unfavourable weather conditions and even some snow, the afforestation action was supported by numerous citizens interested in the conservation of the environment who planted as many as 10,000 seedlings in the aforementioned locations. Among them was the famous Croatian singer Mirela Priselac Remi.

"We welcome JYSK's initiative and we'd like to thank them for their activities as part of their socially responsible business towards the forests. Such actions contribute to raising awareness among all citizens of the need for forest conservation and they are endangered by climate change and the irresponsible behaviour of individuals,'' she stated.

''Without the forests, there's no clean air nor is there any clean water, and such young and healthy forests as are sprouting here are our best allies in alleviating the consequences of climate change. There are multiple uses of forests, and only with responsible management can we manage to preserve them,'' said Damir Miškulin from Croatian forests.

For this project, JYSK collected funds from the sale of 50 percent of recycled plastic bags during the first three months of this year, which were donated for the purchase of seedlings for the purpose of afforestation. JYSK's objective is to raise public awareness of the importance of our forests and their development with a positive example, and continue to implement such projects throughout the year and throughout the whole of the Republic of Croatia.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If it's just the Croatian capital you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow, or check out Zagreb in a Page. Care about the environment? Follow Total Eco Croatia.

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