Croatia's capital Zagreb announced a 318 million kuna (€42m) project to upgrade around 40 percent of its public lighting system to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions. 

The investment will be funded by EU’s ELENA programme and the RePubLEEc project, the city administration said in a statement carried by state agency Hina. The upgrading of some 40 percent of public lighting fixtures should help save around 75 percent of energy, 21 GWh per year, and reduce CO2 emissions by around 5,000 tons a year.

The former City Assembly had published a tender for the project envisaging a private partner that would be in charge of designing and financing work on the project and guarantee the agreed standards (functionality, quality of lighting and energy saving). The contract on the energy effects of the project would be signed for a period of 17 years, which includes two years for the design and 15 years for the provision of the service of public lighting.

Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic said that the city would not be required to increase its spending for the project. The project will include a system monitoring center to enable the city to operate and monitor all street lights in real time. Tomasevic will attend a UN conference on climate change in Glasgow on Wednesday, to participate in a panel debate of mayors on European green transition in cities, namely ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping cities adapt to climate change.