Conference "Circular Economy – How to Get to It"

The conference “Circular Economy – How to Get to It”, held on 6 November in Belgrade, brought together representatives of the Ministry of the Environmental Protection, civil society organizations and the business community to discuss steps needed for transition to green economy in Serbia.

The conference organised by the Policy and Legal Advice Centre (PLAC III) in the cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection presented an ex ante analysis of the circular economy effects, which was realised within the scope of PLAC III project activities. The analysis should serve as a basis for the development of a public policy document that will enable the full development of the circular economy in Serbia.

The team leader of the PLAC III project, Mr Andrej Engelman presented the project activities, which cover 11 negotiation chapter. He said that the European Union wants to assist Serbia in the process of harmonisation of national legislation with the EU acquis, which aims to introduce European standards to make citizens’ lives better and longer.

In his opening address, Assistant Minister for the Environmental Protection, Mr Aleksandar Vesić said that Serbia is now working on creating the necessary framework for the green economy, and that it is necessary to identify the problems that should be addressed, because “the circular economy has become an integral part of life in all developed societies”.

“We need to have legislative measures, market measures and public sector involvement. It is also important to have transfer of knowledge, as well as to keep the economy informed about the circular economy,” Vesić said. He stressed that the circular economy is one of the basic preconditions for the competitiveness of domestic products in the European and other world markets.

The head of the Group for the Circular and Green Economy of the Ministry of the Environmental Protection, Mrs Aleksandra Vučinić said that circular economy is a multi-sectoral topic and that it was therefore concluded that there should be one document. That’s why we decided to have an ex ante analysis done, and the public policy document is expected next year, she added.

Vučinić warned that natural resources are being consumed globally at a rapid pace: “Last year, we have spent all the resources that the planet can renew on 1 August already, and lived 152 days on credit,” she said and estimated that the situation will be even more difficult in 2019.

According to forecasts, 170 to 180 billion tons of raw materials will be needed by 2050 to satisfy the contemporary consumer society, Vučinić said. She also pointed out that analyzes have shown that if the pace of resource use continues at this rate, Earth’s inhabitants will need three planets by 2050 to meet the economic development of global society.

The concept of a circular economy leads to resource savings, raw material and energy efficiency and environmental protection. Its key elements are recycling, green public procurement, the promotion of small and medium-size enterprises, while, according to Vučinić, innovations are of key importance since they are needed to facilitate the recycling process.

“The state must support companies to move from the linear to circular economy with new financial instruments,” Vučinić added.

Representative of the Standing Conference of Municipalities of the Municipalities, Mr Miodrag Gluščević said that the SCTM was working on exploring the capacity of local governments to introduce circular economy and on attitudes towards it at the local level. He said the research was ongoing, but already showed that there was a good level of awareness.

Project experts Dušan Vasiljević and Dragana Petrović presented an ex ante analysis that showed the preconditions for the introduction of the circular economy currently in Serbia. The advantages identified are that part of the legislation is already in line with the EU acquis, that a process has been started that will enable green public procurement to become a standard and innovations are recognised as a driving force in introducing the green economy principles. One of advantages is the well-developed IT sector, with exports of services worth almost EUR one billion in 2018.

Weaknesses have been identified as poor waste management (out of the 12 million tons of waste generated annually, only three percent of municipal waste is recycled), legislation is insufficiently developed and inspection system is ineffective. In addition, Serbia faces inefficient energy consumption: as Vasiljević stated, for each 1 EUR of Gross Domestic Product, 260 grams of waste is generated, 4,6 kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed and 0,7 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated.

Uncontrolled imports of inert and hazardous waste, large imports of old vehicles, poor penalties and inefficient incentive policies are also identified as aggravating circumstances.

However, it was pointed out that the Serbian economy has the potential to develop a circular economy, especially if the situation improves in the area of recycling and energy.

By adopting modern standards, Serbia has a huge development opportunity, the analysis said, for a more efficient and competitive economy, employment growth, increased standards and social wealth.