TRIESTE/SARAJEVO – A regional initiative on sustainable energy development was launched today in Trieste, Italy, at its first task force meeting. The meeting was organized jointly by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat and the Executive Secretariat of the Central European Initiative (CEI).

The RCC- and CEI-initiated Sustainable Energy Development Regional Initiative (SEDRI) will work to promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, as well as contributing to sustainable energy development and mitigating climate change in South-East and Eastern Europe.

The main goals of the Initiative are improvement of legislative, institutional and regulatory frameworks conducive to the development of sustainable regional energy sector; construction of small-scale sustainable energy facilities in each of the interested members from South-East and Eastern Europe; and strengthening of a framework for regional cooperation in the field of sustainable energy development, including awareness raising, education, research and scientific cooperation.

Chairing the meeting, Senior RCC Secretariat’s Expert on Infrastructure and Energy, Miroslav Kukobat, underlined that the launching of the Initiative will contribute significantly to increasing regional ownership in this field.

“Mitigating climate change represents a major challenge that requires global solutions, while sustainable energy is the most important tool for coping with the problem. This is the rationale behind the SEDRI and the reason the RCC supports this activity.”

The event gathered senior officials and experts in the area of sustainable energy representing ministries and relevant specialized institutes and agencies from Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Moldova, Romania and Serbia.

The participants discussed SEDRI priority areas and project proposals that offer most scope for cooperation in sustainable energy at regional level, and determined future course of action. The proposed approach is compliant with the EU’s integrated energy and climate policy.

The meeting participants agreed that Serbia would be chairing SEDRI Task Force in the future period.