Belgrade to become a champion of low-carbon district heating - UNEP Global District Energy in Cities initiative aims to drive green transition

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Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, 17 February 2016 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is among bodies providing technical advice for the overhaul of Belgrade’s district heating system, with the aim of securing major efficiency gains and helping move towards use of renewable energy.  

A wide range of stakeholders – including the private sector and finance institutions – were consulted in Belgrade’s Hotel Metropol today on possible ways of rehabilitating and integrating renewables in the city’s district heating system. The network is 86% powered by natural gas, but Belgrade is eager to explore other sources of energy, including possibilities of cogeneration.    

Heating and cooling can account for up to half of local energy consumption in cities, while switching to modern district energy systems can provide efficiency gains of up to 80-90% relative to conventional ones.

UNEP’s Global District Energy in Cities Initiative, of which Belgrade is one of the first pilot cities, aims to drive a switch to low-carbon, energy efficient heating by developing, retrofitting or scaling-up district energy systems. The Serbian capital will be provided with best practice guidance and support and be linked with other district energy champions such as Paris, Helsinki, Warsaw and Tokyo.

“We are very happy that our determination to join the Global Initiative has brought concrete results,” said Ms. Stana Bozovic, State Secretary of Republic of Serbia, at today’s event.

“This consultation meeting is one of the first steps to benefit from the new Global GEF 'SE4All' project in the Republic of Serbia and work with UNEP in advancing the district heating system in City of Belgrade,” explained Ms Bozovic, who is also the Republic of Serbia’s focal point for the Global Climate Fund and Global Environment Fund (GEF), which is one of the main donors for the activities of the District Energy Initiative.

“UNEP looks forward to providing technical advice to help bring climate and financial benefits to Belgrade’s district heating system,” said Jan Dusik, Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe. “Through this project, we hope to assist Belgrade in becoming an example for other cities in Serbia and beyond,” he underlined.  

Today’s consultation meeting was attended by the State Secretary for Environment of Republic of Serbia, Ms Stana Bozovic; Mr Goran Vesic, City Manager of Belgrade and Mr Vladica Bozic, Serbia’s representative at the Climate Technology Centre and Network; as well as donors, private sector representatives and UNEP staff.

As part of the project, Belgrade will also be seeking independent advice on the ownership structure of the vital public service of district heating and on developing plans to achieve higher shares of renewables and efficiency improvements, as well as on cost and pollution reduction.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The project to overhaul Belgrade’s district energy system is the city’s first since it signed up to the Global District Energy in Cities Initiative at its launch in Tallinn, Estonia last April.

The Initiative is a multi-stakeholder partnership coordinated by UNEP and funded by the GEF and the Danish International Development Agency DANIDA. It is one of five accelerators of the SE4All Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform launched at the UN Climate Summit held in September 2014. The Initiative aims to double the rate of energy efficiency improvements for heating and cooling in buildings by 2030 and quantify the corresponding decrease in GHGs.

The Initiative has now moved into an implementation phase and is providing technical support to cities in five countries, including India, Serbia, China, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop modern district energy projects and city-wide plans. It has also partnered with the Climate Technology Centre and Network to refurbish the district energy system in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Over the next three years, the Initiative will support more than 25 other cities to overhaul district energy systems through technical assessments, capacity building and training.

The District Energy Initiative is funded by the GEF under its newly-approved project titled ‘Increasing Investments in District Energy Systems in Cities – a SE4All Energy Efficiency Accelerator’.

For more information, please contact:

Pier Carlo Sandei, Programme Officer, UNEP Vienna Office, piercarlo.sandei@unvienna.org, (+43-1) 26060-5796,  (+43) 699 1459-5796

Sonja Malicevic, UNEP Vienna Office, sonja.malicevic@unvienna.org, (+43-1) 26060 4421

Mark Grassi, Information Assistant, UNEP Regional Office for Europe, (+41) 229178279, mark.grassi@unep.org