Fourth Socio-Ecological Forum 2024: Citizens Must Be Included in Every Local or National Energy Strategy, Local Communities and Civil Society Organizations Play a Key Role in Energy Transformation

This forum, traditionally held for the fourth time in Skopje, enabled professional debate and discussion about the needs and opportunities for a socially just energy transition. Environmental challenges, the green agenda, promoting social cohesion through investments in employment, quality and inclusive education, and high-quality services for social inclusion and protection were high on the SEF agenda.

The first panel titled "How to Ensure a Socially Just Energy Transformation in an Era of Growing Poverty and Inequality?" featured the participation of the President of the Energy Regulatory Commission, Marko Bislimovski, the representative of the International Union of Tenants, Barbara Steenbergen, and the Mayor of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zijad Lugavic.

The main messages sent from this panel discussion were that citizens must be included in every local or national energy strategy and must have the right to choose how they want to live. The forum informed the public that in the last two and a half years in North Macedonia, there has been an Eldorado of investments, which is practically a strong impetus in the process of energy transition with new power plants built from renewable sources with a total installed capacity of 700 MW. These investments contributed to a 25-30% growth in the installed capacity that the country has had so far, strengthening energy independence.

At the panel discussion titled "Civil Society Organizations as Mediators in a Socially Just Energy Transformation," speakers included the Mayor of Križevci, Mario Rajn, the project manager at the Energy Cooperative ZEZ Sunce from Zagreb, Croatia, Josip Beber, the director of the first municipal solar company "Energy Center" and co-founder of the Green Society Association "Greener," Biljana Dukovska.

The panelists emphasized that energy cooperatives play a significant role in overcoming energy poverty, saving energy, and investing in new energy sources. It was also pointed out that civil society organizations can play a key role in the energy transformation and help municipalities bridge the institutional gap, ensuring citizen participation and energy democratization.

In the third panel "Reuse, Reduce, Repair (Before You Recycle) for Socially Just Climate Action," speakers included the coordinator of Riperaj from Rijeka, Croatia, Daniela Matejčić Miletić, the founder of the workshop for repair and restoration of old and broken items "Progress," Ema Neškovska, and the owner of Alpha Solar Energy from Kosovo, Gentijana Alija. Miletić, Neškovska, and Alija emphasized that there are workshops where citizens can repair old appliances, spoiled and damaged furniture, clothing, toys for free, and throw them away less often, which reduces waste levels and protects the environment.

As part of the forum, three workshops were held where participants were divided into three groups and together with the team from the non-governmental organization "Eco Logic," they were educated about socio-ecological transformation through play.