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Bratislava – Slovakia is late with updating the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). Member states were supposed to submit its revision to the European Commission (EC) by June 30th. The process was also supposed to include public consultations, which have not started yet. The Climate Coalition pointed this out, as informed by TASR.
“The plan is supposed to determine how Slovakia will proceed in the energy sector to meet climate goals. It is supposed to include not only a calculation of measures to reduce emissions in various sectors and the related technologies or investment projects, but also a proposal on how to support people at risk of energy poverty,” explained lawyer, co-founder, and coordinator of the Climate Coalition Dana Mareková.
She claims that instead of updating the NECP, the government is announcing large projects. The usefulness of projects such as water reservoirs, carbon capture plans, support for fossil gas, hydrogen, or another nuclear power plant is questionable according to the Climate Coalition. “They lack a thorough calculation of benefits and costs, including consideration and planning of what is best for Slovakia. That is exactly what the energy-climate plan is supposed to describe,” the environmentalists noted.
According to the coalition, it is not possible to determine from the available version of the NECP from August 2023 whether some figures have not been updated by ministries since 2018 or whether this is how they actually plan it. “For example, the text states the binding goal of the European Union for the share of energy from renewable sources by 2030 to be at least 32 percent, but this has increased to at least 42.5 percent. Thus, the Slovak goal of 23 percent, which the plan states, is very low, and according to the EC’s comments, it should be at the level of 35 percent,” the environmentalists concluded.
They noted that an important factor is also the current state of Slovak finances and the forecast for future developments. A study by the European Central Bank shows that Slovakia is the worst in the eurozone countries in terms of preparing for climate change, budget deficit, digitization, demographic aging, and defense spending. “When a country faces multiple crises at the same time, it cannot shoot from the hip but needs to plan well what to invest in based on a well-thought-out strategy and analyses. This is important not only for climate goals but also to use the finances effectively where and for whom it is really needed,” noted the coordinator of the Climate Coalition, Dana Mareková. (July 1)