The launching conference held today in Belgrade officially announced the implementation of the Municipal Energy Efficiency and Management Project (MEEMP) in Serbia through which the Swiss Confederation is supporting four Serbian municipalities in improving their energy efficiency performance and eliminating the negative impacts on the environment, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Mining and Energy of Serbia.
While opening the conference, the State Secretary, Mr. Dedjanski stated that municipalities in Serbia play a very important role in the implementation of energy efficiency policy: they are at the same time consumers and suppliers of energy and water, planners and role models – and consequently are the central point, where all MEEMP activities come together.
H.E. Mr. Guex emphasized in his addressing that Switzerland is committed to bilateral cooperation with Serbia and stressed that energy efficiency and resilient cities is one of three key fields of support defined by the Swiss Cooperation Strategy Serbia for the period 2018-2021.
Representatives of the four municipalities presented individual engagements in the field of energy efficiency planned with the support of MEEMP and expressed readiness and willingness to fully commit to the implementation of all project activities.
With the total budget of 8’4 million euros, a total of 23 schools, kindergartens and other public buildings will be rehabilitated. This will generate savings in energy consumption costs, reduce the maintenance costs in the long run, extend the lifetime of the buildings and contribute to safe and more comfortable environment for building users, in particular for several thousand pupils, teachers and citizens who will directly benefit from this project. At the same time the awareness regarding importance of energy efficiency will be increased.
The conference was attended by high officials of Serbian institutions, Swiss Embassy, representatives of the involved municipalities, guests and colleagues from national and international institutions.