Bernard Ivčić: We plan to focus even more on advocating for low-carbon development

Croatia needs a new energy strategy as it has been a long time since 2009 in terms of energy policy. This was recently noted by the Minister of Environment and Nature Protection, Slaven Dobrović, while discussing current projects such as Plomin C.

This project, as well as some others, is a matter of both expertise and energy strategy. Whether it will be realized or not depends on this. However, the ‘greens’ will certainly contribute to projects that have been in the news for a long time, such as the project for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Adriatic. And they will do so united, just as they have so far.

The integral parts of the activist engagement of Green Action are lobbying, public advocacy, and often protest activities. Bernard Ivčić, the president of the Management Board of Green Action, notes that it is often not enough to just lobby; it is also necessary to raise public awareness on a specific topic so that the institution targeted by their lobbying can more easily see that there is public interest in that topic. They use such methods in current campaigns against drilling in the Adriatic, against Plomin C, for a sustainable waste management system, etc. A concrete example from the S.O.S. for the Adriatic campaign is last year’s pressure on OMV, headquartered in Vienna, to withdraw from the Adriatic drilling project and thereby reduce the risk of oil pollution in the Adriatic.

– We connected with a partner organization in Austria that lobbied this company to abandon drilling, explaining various aspects of the project to them. After that, together with our Austrian colleagues, we organized a performance in front of OMV’s headquarters in Vienna. A month later, we also participated in the annual shareholders’ meeting of this company and gave a speech explaining why they should not participate in drilling in the Adriatic. Shortly thereafter, OMV announced that it was abandoning its intention to drill in the Adriatic – Ivčić states, adding that their activities were probably not the only reason for their withdrawal, but they certainly made a visible contribution.

They regularly participate in public discussions on various laws, strategies, and programs where they analyze the proposed document and write comments, striving to improve quality. In some cases, in addition to sending comments, they also initiate campaigns. For example, due to the corrupt Law on Golf Courses, in collaboration with several partner organizations, they organized a series of protest actions and requested the Constitutional Court to assess the legality of the said Law.

– Through our activities, we managed to point out to the public and certain institutions that this Law has little to do with golf as a sport, but rather that it concerns an apparently criminal real estate deal that would allow the expropriation of both state and private land for the purpose of building apartment complexes. Ultimately, the Government repealed this Law, citing the arguments of Green Action in its explanation – Ivčić says.

Another example is the adoption of the Law on Light Pollution. Together with several experts in the fields of astronomy, lighting technology, physics, medicine, traffic, and landscape architecture, they developed guidelines for the draft Law and submitted them to the relevant Ministry of Environment Protection. Ultimately, this Law was adopted in 2012 in the Croatian Parliament.

– This made Croatia the first country in Europe to have a special law on the protection against light pollution, and the application of such a law will benefit environmental and nature protection, the preservation of the night sky for astronomical research, increased energy efficiency, protection of human health, and preservation of cultural heritage – Ivčić emphasizes, adding that the impact is generally greater when citizens are united than when they act as individuals.

There is added value, he continues, when several different organizations are united, especially those whose cooperation is not usual, as this shows that it is indeed a matter of broad public interest and that the relevant institutions should not ignore the views of citizens. In the upcoming period, they plan to focus even more on advocating for low-carbon development, i.e., promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources and fighting against planned fossil projects. They will also focus on the protection of natural and public goods, which includes improving the management system of natural and public goods.

– Increasingly, privatization is being advocated as an alternative to ineffective management, which is a completely wrong direction. It is essential to ensure transparent public management free from petty party interests and independent oversight of operations. However, it is crucial to maintain public ownership – Ivčić notes.