Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopac said that the taxation of carbon dioxide emissions will be introduced in Western Balkan countries by 2025.
According to him, the introduction of taxes is the best and practically the only way for Western Balkan economies to turn to greater use of renewable energy sources. That brings additional income that can be used for energy transition. He also emphasized that the funds from the collection of taxes will go to the national budgets, and not to the European ones, while the countries that will apply that mechanism will keep the preferential treatment when exporting to the EU.
Kopac said that energy transition is a long-term process and it is clear that coal-fired thermal power plants will be operational for decades in Serbia, adding that the country could phase-out coal from electricity generation in 2050. He also warned that Serbia still does not respect the directive on large combustion plants, namely it has not yet installed filters for desulfurization, nitrogen oxides and particular matter in all thermal power plants.
