Greenpeace in Croatia held a press conference on Thursday at Markov trg in front of the Croatian Parliament regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections. On this occasion, it informed the public that it had sent a survey questionnaire to the addresses of five political parties/coalitions that, according to polls, exceed the electoral threshold (Homeland Movement, HDZ, Most, We Can! and SDP).
In the survey, there are topics important for the future of the country – energy transition and environmental and nature conservation – with a request for the parties to express their positions on them:
– By 2030, Croatia can and should produce all the electricity it needs from renewable energy sources.
– Together with other European Union countries, Croatia should abandon fossil gas by 2035.
– Halt all investments in new fossil gas infrastructure and ambitiously turn to renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures.
– The new government should order INA to extract the gas platform Ivana D from the bottom of the Adriatic Sea, as already ordered by the State Inspectorate.
– Croatia should not participate in Slovenian plans for the new nuclear power plant Krško 2, but should turn to domestic renewable sources.
– The global ocean agreement that Croatia has signed and the UN has adopted should be ratified by the end of this year.
– Following the example of the Global Ocean Agreement, strongly support and advocate for an ambitious Global Plastic Agreement.
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Greenpeace activists brought appropriate props to Markov trg: a portable solar power plant with an attached “pre-election” traffic light and a large ballot showing the direction Croatian energy policy should take.
– The previous Croatian climate and energy policy has shown a lack of ambition, resulting in minimal investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Unlike many European countries that have recognized sun and wind as clean and independent energy sources, our previous ruling parties have been more inclined to expand gas infrastructure, and according to the latest announcements, even nuclear – said Petra Andrić, program leader of Greenpeace in Croatia.
Namely, the nuclear lobby and current politics have recently imposed nuclear energy on the public as an acceptable transitional solution, which is a significant deception. Nuclear energy is too expensive, project realization takes up to fifteen years, a permanent solution for nuclear waste simply does not exist, and it does not solve the issue of energy independence. Moreover, the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, for example, was out of operation for a month and a half last year due to a malfunction, and is currently undergoing maintenance for an additional month, which means that in just seven months, the nuclear power plant will not operate for two and a half months. Surprisingly, no one misses electricity during that time.
– Fortunately, Croatian citizens are increasingly recognizing the value of investing in solar energy, and it is the responsibility of newly elected political officials to enable and facilitate citizens in realizing projects through measures and regulations – said Andrić, adding that we have plenty of sunshine, yet we are among the worst in Europe in utilizing its potential.
Greenpeace believes that the mentioned topics deserve a high place in pre-election discussions, given that in recent years we have increasingly and more strongly felt the consequences of climate change on our own skin and in our own backyard.
– We want political parties to clearly and loudly state what they plan to do regarding the climate crisis and environmental protection, topics on which our future depends. We want voters to hear and see this before they take their ballots – concluded Andrić.
The results of the survey questionnaire will be published during the pre-election campaign.
