"Croatia will meet with dedication the obligations stemming from the Paris Agreement just as the other states of the European Union and the world which have ratified this very important document. We are aware of the consequences of global warming which are appearing here as well," Environmental Protection and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric said, according to a ministry press release.
"Floods and the increasingly long periods of drought are only part of the inclement weather we are facing. The Paris Agreement will make it possible to deal with those consequences in a quality way. Also, we will stimulate the development of clean energy and energy efficiency projects which will raise the level of environmental protection and stimulate economic growth," Coric said.
The Paris Agreement has been signed by 195 countries and Croatia was the 147th to ratify it. The main goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the growth of global temperatures to below 2% in relation to the pre-industrial level, the ministry said.
EU member states reduce emissions together via the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) for which a common quota has been established and which includes 52 plants in Croatia. An annual national quota which must not be exceeded is determined, based on solidarity, for emissions and sectors not covered by the EU ETS. A draft regulation for the period until 2030 is under discussion. Croatia is obliged to reduce emissions by 7% in relation to 2005.
Croatia is actively preparing for meeting the Paris Agreement obligations, the Environmental Protection and Energy Ministry said, adding that it had drawn up a low-carbon strategy for the period until 2030 and was drawing up a strategy on adjustment to climate change until 2040.
Climate models indicate that temperatures in Croatia will rise between 2.4 and 2.9 degrees Celsius by 2100. Also visible is a general trend of extreme droughts following floods and vice versa. Global change is also affecting the temperature and salinity of the sea as well as the structure and functioning of the ecosystem.
Croatia's long coastline makes it vulnerable to the rising level of the sea, making especially vulnerable the historical parts of the coastal towns of Nin, Zadar, Sibenik, Split, Stari Grad and Dubrovnik as well as the valley of the Neretva river, the ministry said.