An event “From Climate Plan to Actions” was held in Sarajevo today, aimed at promoting the importance of implementing concrete activities to reduce the climate change impact in cities.

United Nations Development Programme, through projects funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), continues in 2021 to support the implementation of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Action Plans (SECAP), developed for 37 partner local governments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. SECAP is a key document by means of which the mayors of local governments have committed to achieving their goals in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation, all with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.

“Through the Climate Plans, 37 cities and municipalities in BiH have committed to reduce CO₂ emissions by a total of 1.5 million tons by 2030 through the implementation of specific measures such as energy retrofits of public and residential buildings, modernization of public lighting, construction of embankments, construction of cycle paths and other measures. In order to start the necessary energy transition in BiH, and while we are waiting for it to accelerate, a political will and ambitious plans are required that will identify priority areas for action”, stated Steliana Nedera, UNDP Resident Representative in BiH.

The aim of this initiative is bringing together different levels of government, relevant organizations, agencies and associations, as well as citizens for the purpose of accelerated joint action aimed at climate change mitigation and strengthening local capacities for adaptation to climate change.

“In the previous period the most significant activity for Bosnia and Herzegovina is adoption of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and its submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which made us one of the first countries in the region to fulfil this obligation under the Convention.” Bosnia and Herzegovina is undertaking a number of activities and concrete measures to join the global movement in combating climate change”, said Mirza Hujić, Assistant Minister for Environmental Protection, Water Resources and Tourism.

The focus of the event was on municipalities and their transformation efforts to become resilient to climate change. Out of 37 municipalities, 22 of them adopted SECAPs in the previous period.

“Cities, which have prepared Climate Plans, should serve as a good example to other local governments to join this initiative and thus systematically decide to take action in mitigation and adaptation to climate change,” said Jasmina Katica, Head of Energy Efficiency Department of the FBiH Ministry of Physical Planning.

On the occasion of today's event, municipal teams were provided with computer equipment for monitoring and implementation of SECAPs. In this way, presenting the data through the Covenant of Mayors reporting platform allows signatories to demonstrate the concrete impact of their activities on the territory, providing an important feedback on the local activities. The primary area of action is energy saving programs and actions in public buildings owned by local authorities that represent significant energy consumers, e.g. for heating and lighting.

The preparation of SECAPs is implemented within the projects “Scaling-up Investment in Low-Carbon Public Buildings” and “Catalyzing Environmental Finance for Low-carbon Urban Development” (URBANLED), which are implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the RS Ministry of Physical Planning, Civil Engineering and Ecology, the FBiH Ministry of Physical Planning, the FBiH Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund and the RS Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund.

Event recording in the local language is availabe at https://www.facebook.com/UNDPBiH/videos/973738866734103

Virtual exhibition is available at https://bit.ly/3nnskwG

Video presentations of 22 SECAPs are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmR8z0fNCnc&list=PLDB3j8IeGjIPPqodlCKkEj12zt8O7Zepf