Slovakia's targets for combating climate change by 2030 are not even at the level of the commitments already made, according to Katerina Chajdiakova, coordinator of the Slovak Climate Initiative (SKI). Slovakia will not meet its 2030 climate change commitments even if it has already formally made them in the past, she said on Tuesday.
"Slovakia has sent the European Commission a National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) under which it will use fewer renewable sources, produce more greenhouse gas emissions and achieve lower energy savings than it has committed to. Meanwhile, we will have €10 billion in EU funding available by 2033 for measures to help us meet these commitments. SKI has already drawn SKI's attention over the summer to several of the shortcomings that the European Commission criticised Slovakia for on Monday," Chajdiaková said.
According to SKI, one of the main reservations of the EC was the insufficient handling of assistance to the population at risk of energy poverty. According to the initiative, the Slovak NEKP does not explain how Slovakia is going to help energy-poor households.
"Regarding energy poverty, the draft updated plan lists several national programmes and strategies. However, the plan does not clearly explain how energy poverty will be addressed in a structural way, nor does it explain which measures are specifically targeted at vulnerable households in energy poverty or their expected impact," Chajdiakova pointed out.
Chajdiakova said Slovakia should make good use of the seven months that remain until the final draft of the NEKP is submitted in July 2024. "Setting targets below the commitments we have made sends the wrong signal. Especially at a time when the whole of Europe is dealing not only with climate change, which is already causing damage in Slovakia, but also with the security of energy production and supply and energy affordability," she added.
According to her, the quality of the final proposal may also determine how much of the 10 billion euros Slovakia should receive to meet the targets will be released by the EC in the end.
"Not only we, but also other organisations that have already pointed out these shortcomings over the summer, are ready to help in the preparation of the NEKP, which will not only contribute to mitigating climate change, but can also bring significant funds to help households, but also companies," she concluded.
(TASR)
