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Zagreb - During a parliamentary debate on amendments to the Energy Efficiency Act, which should help establish a mechanism for energy saving, the Opposition on Wednesday warned that solar energy was not used sufficiently in Croatia and that the share of renewable energy sources in Croatia was a mere 28%.
Miro Bulj (Bridge) warned that of all Mediterranean countries Croatia used solar energy the least, with a share of just 0.3% in the energy sources used, and that countries with a far smaller number of sunny days used solar energy more, such as Finland, which used it five times more than Croatia.
He recalled that his party had advocated the installation of solar panels to make poor families' energy independent.
Social Democrat MP Mirela Ahmetović said that the drop in fossil fuel production was being compensated for with their import and that the share of renewables was only 28%. She called for introducing a fee for producers of fossil fuels to encourage the development of renewable energy sources.
Vesna Vučemilović (Homeland Movement) called for Croatia's reindustrialisation, noting that industries were being wound down.
Predrag Štromar of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) said that he would support the amendments, as did Miro Totgergeli of the HDZ party, who said the amendments would help achieve energy development goals, improve the security of supply and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Marijana Puljak (Center-GLAS) called for gradually discontinuing the use of nuclear energy and reducing the use of natural gas in the energy sector, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of the business sector by reducing CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030 and strengthening energy efficiency.
Željko Lenart (Croatian Peasant Party/Croatian Pensioners Party) said that accomplishing energy efficiency required major investments and that very few people could afford it, noting that 65% of households accounted for around 40% of total energy consumption.