July 9, 2021 - The REPLACE Project was presented at the JOINT SECAP workshop in Rijeka on June 23. There is no better way to end a year and a half-long Interreg project for Croatia, which was one more ecosystem-concerned cooperation between Italy and Croatia.

When it comes to energy efficiency in Croatia, there is no doubt anybody cares about it more than the scientific community working and associating with Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar (EIHP).

Not only is the EIHP building on its way to becoming the first nearly zero energy building in the whole of the country, but EIHP's expertise also plays a big role in REPLACE Project from Horizon Europe. As TCN previously covered, the project aims to make Primorje Gorski Kotar County energy-renewable territory, and the ongoing meetings about the project (in collaboration with the University of Rijeka) see slow but steady progress in those respects.

As EIHP reports on its website, June 23 saw REPLACE Project presented in the congress hall of Rijeka's Jadran Hotel as part of the final workshop of the JOINT SECAP project.

„On behalf of EIHP, Antonia Tomas Stanković presented REPLACE in the second half of the event. The goal is to support European energetic, climate, environmental, economic, and social goals by 2030 and 2050 by encouraging the gradual replacement of inefficient and outdated cooling and heating systems with new, energy-efficient systems based on renewable energy sources“, informed EIHP.

JOINT SECAP, part of Interreg Italy-Croatia strategic program (much like the CASCADE Project TCN previously wrote about) aims to improve the climate change monitoring and planning of adaptation measures tackling specific effects in the cooperation area.

„The project idea reflects the necessity to operate at a wider district level and better define strategies and actions for climate change adaptation, especially for those weather and climate changes and hydrogeological risks affecting coastal areas. The first phase is developed to build the common methodology for Joint Actions definition and implementation and to share the basic knowledge about issues concerning climate change adaptation strategies and energy efficiency measures. The second phase starts upon the analysis uploaded in the web platform, acting as a useful tool for the development of scenarios for the Joint Actions to be implemented in the Joint SECAP plans, those last constituting the main project deliverable“, explained JOINT SECAP on its website. The workshop in Rijeka was the conclusion of the project as JOINT SECAP ended on June 30 after it began on January 1, 2012, with a budget of € 2,094,857.

The workshop in Rijeka, writes the EIHP website, was organized by Primorje Gorski Kotar County Office for Regional Development Infrastructure and Project Management and by Kvarner Regional Energetic Agency. Representatives of local authorities of Primorsko-Goranska county that were enrolled in creating an Energetic and Climate Sustainable Development Action Plan. These local authorities include towns such as Opatija and Kastav and the districts of Čavle, Matulji, and Viškovo.

„Joint SECAP analyzed energy spending for the included towns and districts, their risks and vulnerability regarding climate change, yearly emissions of CO2 in sectors of building construction industry, public lighting, and traffic. Concrete measures with the goal of adjusting to the effects of climate change and CO2 emissions down to at least 55% by 2030 were suggested“, stated EIHP.

With measures identified, the race with time begins as these measures should be in place as fast as possible to tackle one of the biggest challenges humanity is facing, and Croatia isn't able to be isolated from the threat.

Learn more about Rijeka on our TC page.

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June 14th, 2021 - As part of the Jelsa Art Biennale 2021, a world-famous art collective from Madrid, Luzinterruptus, is coming to Hvar to put into place a monumental light installation of plastic in July bags on the façade of the abandoned Hotel Jadran in Jelsa.

As reported by Jutarnji, a campaign is being launched as part of the project to collect the plastic bags needed to produce the installation. In the next month, until the installation is fully set up, it will be necessary to collect 3,500 plastic bags. 

The student initiatives of the island of Hvar are participating in the action, and all those interested can help by emptying the plastic bags from their pantries and replacing them with canvas ones. For each participant who collects a minimum of 50 bags, the organisers will deliver one canvas bag to their home address, and those who collect more than a hundred will receive a T-shirt. Upon the completion of the event, the bags from the bag installation will be disposed of properly.

Plastic bags of a newer design made of thick polyethylene take as many as 20 years to fully decompose, those of the older composition take about 1000 years to break down, and plastic bottles last for up to 500 years, with the inevitable trace of petrochemical chemicals, which aren't biodegradable.

Luzinterruptus is an art collective from Madrid, which conducts interventions in public spaces to comment on or criticise some of the world's current burning topics. Many of their interventions have been performed in a guerrilla manner, but with a concise duration. Due to the provocativeness of their work, they operate under a collective/anonymous identity.

The collective has implemented interventions worldwide in prominent locations in public spaces such as Trafalgar Square in London or Plaza Vaticano in Buenos Aires.

Be part of something bigger, get rid of the plastic bags from your pantry and receive a canvas one and a t-shirt in return for saving our stunning beaches and the rest of the planet. 

For more, follow our lifestyle section.

Activation of state property remains one of the major sources of reducing public debt, says Croatia’s finance minister Zdravko Marić