There is no alternative to energy transition, which has become a climate, economic and geopolitical necessity, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Bale, Istria County on Friday at a Glas Istre daily conference on green transition challenges.

As a consequence of the Russian aggression on Ukraine, the energy crisis has affected all economic sectors, so decisions have been made at European and national levels to ensure supply security and affordable energy prices, given that “we are faced with accelerated climate change, increasingly frequent extreme weather disasters such as the recent record precipitations, floods, but also droughts and fires,” Plenkovic said.

“Although we ensured our energy independence from Russian gas with the LNG terminal, only by investing in renewable energy sources and cleaner energy, which we can produce ourselves, will we be able to achieve full energy independence,” Plenkovic said.

More than ever before, it’s key to step up the green transition and ensure additional investment in sustainable economic development, he said. Switching to a green and sustainable economy, which rests on renewables, should be looked upon as a chance for Croatia’s further economic development, while taking more account of the environment and limited natural resources, he added.

“Recognising those challenges and confident that, through systematic and responsible work, Croatia can respond to each one, there are three key priorities that we will systematically deal with, the digital transformation of the state, the economy and society, demographic revitalisation, and decarbonisation.”

Croatia produces enough electricity to meet 85% of its consumption and 80% of that comes from low-carbon energy sources, including the Krsko nuclear power plant, he said. Thanks to that, 31.3% of Croatia’s energy consumption comes from renewables, ranking it eighth in the EU, he added.

The government plans to facilitate the use of renewables for households and enterprises, Plenkovic said.

Speaking of tourism and the green transition, he said it would require adjustments and new business models based on green technologies. “Croatia has considerable green potential also in tourism as its leading industry.”

Tourism should focus on low-carbon and climate-adaptive solutions, with emphasis on building the tourism infrastructure and increasing the development of tourism with a markedly reduced carbon footprint, Plenkovic said.

Istria County head Boris Miletic said it was important to create prerequisites for abandoning fossil fuels and using solar and wind energy, battery storage and green hydrogen.