Activists of the Green Action NGO on Friday handed in to government and parliament officials a list of demands for urgent action against climate change, asking the government to adopt a green plan for Croatia and the parliament to declare a climate crisis.

The activists, who came to Government House to hand in the list of demands for climate action on behalf of 10 organisations and the national network Green Forum, carried a banner with the message “Let’s raise our voice, not the temperature”.

They played over loudspeakers statements by citizens who attended a climate protest in Zagreb on Earth Day.

“The voice of the people is clear and the government must no longer ignore it,” said Green Action president Luka Tomac.

Energy issues are not the only ones that are important but they are crucial to the process of transition, which requires improvement of all policies, starting with the National Energy-Climate Plan, which is under review but behind closed doors, he said.

“We want the government to stop all investments in the industry of fossil fuels, specifically to give up on its plan to expand the capacity of the LNG terminal on the island of Krk, to close down by 2026 the Plomin 2 thermal power plant, which runs on imported coal, and to not allow the exploration and exploitation of gas and oil in Croatia after 2035,” Tomac said.

Government subsidies should instead be used to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and citizens and communities must be enabled to be active participants in the process of energy transition, the NGO says, calling for a symbolic act of declaring a state of climate crisis.

“We call on the parliament to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enable a more just transition, protect natural resources and strengthen resilience to climate change. Declaring a state of climate crisis would be a strong signal that the government is aware of the need for urgent action and is willing to take the necessary steps,” Tomac said.