USD 12 million of aid for ecological projects in Serbia – Support to local self-governments in countering climate change

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Serbia has invited local self-governments, enterprises, the civilian sector and non-governmental organizations to apply for aid in realizing projects aiming to increase resilience to climate change.

A total of USD 12 million is being awarded within the project of climate change-resilient local development, carried out by the ministry in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Stana Bozovic said at the press conference held on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, that the aid can be used for projects aiming to reduce the emission of gases causing the greenhouse effect, for renewable energy sources, as well as for implementing information technologies in environmental protection.

– The funds are gathered from various sources, such as the Green Fund, the Global Environment Fund (GEF), the development aid provided by EU, Switzerland, Sweden, but also UniCredit Bank, and they will help local self-governments adjust the social and economical development to the climate change – Bozovic said.

She announced that the criteria for the selection of ideas to be supported with this project would be defined in the next month.

Steliana Nedera, Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP, said that the program was a challenge to the public, private and non-governmental sectors to compete to have their solutions for the “acclimatization” of local development accepted and implemented. She reminded that Serbia was in the process of ratifying the Paris climate change agreement.

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

climate change

climate change resilient local development

United Nations Development Program

UNDP

Stana Bozovic

renewable energy sources

Green Fund

Global Environment Fund

GEF

Steliana Nedera