Greencajt Completed: Over 5000 Visitors Participated in the Festival on Sustainable Future

This year’s Greencajt festival was attended by over 5000 people, confirming its establishment as the largest sustainability and ecology project in the region. Alongside the Green Hackathon, which marked World Environment Day yesterday, the conclusion of the green event was rounded off with key messages from renowned experts. Aside from the enormous potential of renewable energy sources, Croatia has the opportunity to receive more than 20 billion euros from the EU for green transition in the next five years, as highlighted in one of the panels, showing that resources to overcome the ecological, climate, and economic crisis do exist.

In addition to inspirational lectures, guests also enjoyed the ceremonial Green Prix awards. The Greenlider of 2022, as chosen by the audience, was Mario Romulić, a ‘wild life’ photographer who started working on his biodynamic farm OPG Čudesna šuma during the pandemic. He often organizes workshops, creates and cultivates ‘Food Forests’ that imitate the natural bio-systems of young forests, merging the concepts of orchards and gardens. The National Environmental Award – Green Prix 2022 is awarded for significant contributions to achieving climate goals and was organized in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency, in collaboration with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

At more than 20 panels, the Greencajt festival hosted some of the key figures in green policies and ecological sustainability. Former CEO of IKEA Europe and IKEA North America and former CEO of Volvo Göran Carstedt spoke about the challenges facing today’s leaders, emphasizing that we must create the future together, not predict it, and that a sustainable tomorrow must be perceived as highly desirable and sought after, with the main priority being to involve people in creating a circular economy.

The balance between biodiversity in fisheries and tourism was discussed by Tonino Picula, President of the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas, Hana Huzjak, Economic Advisor at the European Commission, Draško Holcer, President of the Blue World Institute, and Iva Pozniak, Senior Expert Associate for the Regional Development Agency of Dubrovnik-Neretva County – DUNEA. The speakers’ claims that every person consumes 5 grams of plastic weekly, equivalent to one credit card, left the audience speechless.

– The EU strongly encourages the goals of the European Green Deal and the guidelines of the Climate Law, which is an excellent framework within which much can be achieved by the end of this decade. We have entered a unique period where climate change has caused technological changes – emphasized Tonino Picula, while Hana Huzjak confirmed that ‘there has never been more money for green policies than there is now’.

Commenting on the role of gas as an energy source and the energy crisis, on the panel ‘Bye Bye Gas’, Julije Domac, Director of REGEA and Special Advisor to the President of the Republic of Croatia for Energy and Climate, Marko Biočina, Editor-in-Chief of Economic Content at Jutarnji List, and Neven Duić, Professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, agreed that there is no political independence without energy independence and that the decentralization of energy sources is key to implementing a new energy strategy.

– Croatia has enough smart and skilled people who should create a new energy strategy. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to explain to children and grandchildren why we did not save the climate – predicted Domac.

A special contribution to the Greencajt festival was made by adventurer Bonita Norris, the youngest British woman to climb Mt. Everest and reach the North Pole. In her lecture titled ‘When the Mountain Speaks’, this enthusiast expressed her hope that ‘future generations will succeed in what we have not, which is to make a radical change and preserve the nature that makes us who we are’.

The last day of Greencajt, which also coincided with World Environment Day, was marked by the Green Hackathon competition realized in collaboration with the British Embassy and Algebra LAB. After two days of working on innovative and sustainable projects, the expert jury selected the most successful project – NADES Design. The winners of this year’s Hackathon were awarded a trip to the United Kingdom where they will have the opportunity to join the British startup scene, make contacts within the green sector, and present their green solution to an international audience.

Visitors enjoyed concerts by the Split band TBF and the Dino Dvornik Tribute band during the Festival and had the opportunity to view an exhibition of electric and hybrid cars. The overall experience of the green event was enhanced by the decoration of the main conference hall with numerous plants, provided by Zagrebački holding.