The environmental pillar of the “SDGs for ALL” Platform, established a thematic group Energy Transition as an Opportunity for Sustainable Rural Development, on July 27. This thematic group that will operate as a forum for debate on priorities and opportunities for energy transition in rural areas, by facilitating exchange of opinions and experiences among the relevant stakeholders and generating policy recommendations for improving the situation in this field.

The thematic group will seek to illuminate the ambiguous relationships between renewable energy and rural development in the context of the current trajectory of energy transition in Serbia. While the energy transition is increasingly recognized as a promising opportunity for the economic development of rural areas, there are still significant challenges affecting rural municipalities in this regard.

The members of the thematic group agreed that insufficient human capacities, lack of coordination between municipalities and very low energy efficiency of facilities in rural areas are some of the most significant challenges that rural areas face in terms of the energy transition. On the other hand, the use of waste and agricultural biomass for energy purposes, the formation of energy cooperatives, as well as production from solar or wind energy in areas suitable for this are seen as significant potentials for a fair energy transition in rural areas.

This was the first of a series of three meetings to be held by the thematic group, which will result in two evidence-based policy recommendations that will provide proposals for addressing identified challenges in the field of energy transition of rural regions.