INTERVIEW JØRN EUGEN GJELSTAD, AMBASSADOR OF NORWAY TO SERBIA
Cooperation for Serbia’s Cleaner
AND BRIGHTER FUTURE We believe that we can together turn problems into opportunities and achieve results for a cleaner and brighter future. Those of us in the North started earlier, so we have learned some lessons the hard way. And we want to share those lessons with Serbia, so that this society can avoid our mistakes and reproduce our success stories. However, we have implemented a number of energy efficiency projects in the public sector in Serbia, including the Centre for Social Work in Bela Palanka, a nursery school in Babušnica and a library in Golubac. Norway also supported the reconstruction of the Dositej Obradović Primary School in Bela Crkva and the Veljko Dugošević Culture Centre in Kučevo. All these projects improved the energy efficiency of the public institutions in question.
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orway is a consistent supporter of the socioeconomic development of the Western Balkans, and it cooperates closely with local and national governments, international organisations and civil society to achieve the best possible results. “I would particularly highlight our model for support to local businesses, especially in the less developed municipalities in Serbia,” says Jørn Eugen Gjelstad, Ambassador of Norway to Serbia. The applied Norwegian model is actually quite simple: public calls for support are announced and the best proposals are awarded grants for implementation, with substantial technical assistance and guidance provided over the course of the project. “One of the most successful calls was targeting business support entities, enabling them
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Nordic Countries & Serbia 2021
to support local businesses in a coordinated manner,” says our interlocutor. “We see time and time again that small businesses, through relatively minor financial support from our side, are able to increase their production capacity and productivity, employ more people, identify new markets or production technologies, and obtain certificates that open the door to exports to the European market.” Norway’s assistance to Serbia is directed towards SMEs in relation to energy efficiency. How many of these kinds of projects were instigated in 2020? - Norway is focused primarily on increasing the compliance of SMEs with the industrial emissions directive of the European Union, which relates to the improvement of their competitiveness, performance and resilience.
From the perspective of Serbian enterprises, energy efficiency and the circular economy are mostly viewed as being primarily connected to expensive investments. What does Norway’s experience in this area tell us in that regard? - Industrial transformations are always costly, but virtually all experts agree that we need to cut emissions drastically. The alternative is catastrophic for the globe, both for the environment and for societies. Green energy, energy efficiency and the circular economy represent the backbone of the path forward. And I believe you are right in pointing out that it should be seen as an investment, rather than a cost. Investments in technology tend to yield excellent results in the long run, and the future is green. Businesses and societies that don’t invest in the future will fall behind. In today’s global markets, going green is a matter of competitiveness. I believe that Norwegian businesses are not willing to accept the risk associated with not investing in the green future. The proposed European carbon border adjustment mechanism is a clear signal that the EU is serious about the green transformation, and that its trading partners need to follow suit. This is an additional reminder and incentive, both
