Green Transition: Smart Governance and Citizens Learn from Each Other

Urban areas are home to the majority of the world’s population, which means that, according to the UN, they produce 75% of CO₂ emissions. So what are Croatian cities doing to encourage decarbonization? Everyone boasts about sustainability and green projects, but how do they look in practice? The answer to this question was provided by Osijek, which last year also earned the title of the best Croatian eco-city.

– The City of Osijek and its associated city-owned companies have so far installed 18 solar power plants with a total capacity of 918 kW on properties owned by the City of Osijek and city-owned companies, resulting in an annual production of 1150 MWh of electricity from renewable energy sources. The electricity produced is used for self-consumption – stated the City, adding that energy efficiency measures have renovated five primary schools and three kindergartens, saving at least 60% of primary energy consumption.

Smart Solutions

On the other hand, Pula, one of the first cities to start implementing smart solutions that have significantly impacted decarbonization.

– Measures investing in energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources are recognized as effective ways to achieve sustainable development goals as they directly contribute to reducing negative environmental impacts, CO₂ emissions, increasing energy supply security, breaking the link between economic growth and increased energy demand, and enhancing the competitiveness of economies – said the City of Pula.

The City of Slavonski Brod is also thinking about decarbonization, having signed the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, committing to a reduction of at least 55% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, as well as more efficient energy use and greater use of renewable energy sources, and increasing resilience by adapting to the impacts of climate change by 2030.

– To achieve its ambitious plans, the City of Slavonski Brod successfully applied for the second open call for support from the European City Facility, EUCF, which provides support to local government units in developing investment documents for sustainable energy investments and expert and financial support to cities in preparing necessary analyses. The main goal of the project is to develop a decarbonization, optimization, and digitalization concept for the district heating system. In accordance with accepted strategic documents in the energy sector, this concept will be a good basis for collaboration with other projects that the City plans to implement, such as deep energy renovation of public buildings and increasing the share of renewable energy sources – stated the City of Slavonski Brod.

Ecologically Sustainable

The City of Karlovac is also oriented towards green, smart, and environmentally sustainable policies of the European Union and global trends. The development plan until 2030 shows a commitment to using renewable energy sources to reduce CO₂ emissions, increase security and diversify the city’s energy supply, reduce energy consumption in the building, transport, and public lighting sectors, and successfully transform Karlovac into an ecologically sustainable city, with the Implementation Program focused on the green transition in all sectors of society.

– Karlovac has begun developing an action plan for a green city, the ‘Green Cities Action Plan’, and thus became the second green city in Croatia, after Split, to join the Community of Green Cities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – stated the Karlovac city administration.

And while all this sounds commendable on paper, the real question is how much citizens participate in the green actions of Croatian cities and how much cities actually listen to their citizens when it comes to sustainability.

– To ensure the alignment of future development, a comprehensive participatory process was conducted involving citizens and interested stakeholders, who participated in the document’s preparation in several phases. Sectoral focus groups were conducted, and the public was surveyed in the initial phase, B2B meetings and online workshops in the analysis results processing phase and preparation of the strategic framework, as well as additional meetings with individual sector stakeholders in the phase of adjusting the draft strategic framework. Public e-consultation was also conducted. The plan established a strategic framework with four priorities: a human-centered city, green urbanization, clean and flexible transport, and a productive city – explained the Pula city administration.

Involving Citizens

Osijek also involves citizens in the green aspects of its operations.

– As part of the project ‘Eyes, Hearts, and Hands – Urban Revolution’, which is currently being implemented in Osijek as part of the ‘Horizon’ program, citizens are involved in decision-making and creating content in public spaces while promoting sustainable development measures through surveys and interviews for a holistic approach that includes various social, cultural, and ethical aspects. This format of citizen involvement will be applied by the City in future interventions wherever possible – they said in Osijek, adding that they involve the interested public in various workshops.

Of course, when it comes to sustainable projects, it is important to mention that citizens need additional education. For example, Slavonski Brod has contracted with the Green Energy Cooperative from Zagreb to provide technical and administrative support services to citizens in applying for the Public Call of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund for co-financing the installation of solar power plants and conducting a local campaign and interest survey for investing in their own solar power plant.

There are many things that cities can learn from their residents, and initiatives for cleaning neighborhoods are often launched, which many city administrations reward. The City of Trogir, for example, has rewarded those citizens who brought the most waste to the recycling yard for the second consecutive year on the occasion of the City Day. That such actions have an effect and that citizens are ready for cleaner and more sustainable cities is also shown by the statistics that in Trogir, in the last three years, the separation of paper and plastic has increased by more than 400%, and glass by more than 300%. There is no shortage of initiatives from both citizens and city administrations.