Project Activity Date:6/10 MAY 2024 CROATIA, KARLOVAC STUDY VISIT

Location: KARLOVAC /ZAGREB /HIRVATISTAN

Time: 6/10 MAY 2024

TOGETHER WITH THE MUNICIPALITY OF TAURAGE, ÇİNE MUNICIPALITY PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY VISIT TO KARLOVAC, CROATIA TO SEE GOOD PRACTICE EXPERIENCES ON SITE – 6/10 MAY 2024

Within the scope of the “We Join Forces for the  Green Future” Project, which we are implementing within the scope of the Town Twinning-II (For a Green Future) Grant Scheme between Turkey and the EU, study visits were planned in order to see good practice experiences on combating climate change and environment on site, to be informed and to develop capacity.

The first of these, Croatia Karlovac Study Visit, was held on 06/10 May 2024 in Zagreb and Karlovac in Croatia. Together with our project partner Taurage Municipality, first of all, our Embassy in Zagreb was visited and information about our project was given and information about the relations between Turkey and Croatia was received. Afterwards, a welcome was made in Karlovac Municipality, presentations were made in the municipality meeting hall about climate change and environmentalist projects related to energy efficiency in buildings, Karlovac Municipality SECAP Plans were examined, Pyk Meeting was held, on-site visits were made to public and school buildings with solar panels, geothermal energy well drilling and waste water treatment plant, central heating plant were visited. The Croatian EU Commission Representative was informed about our project and EU projects were discussed. We celebrated the EU Day on May 9th in Karlovac with all our partners.

During these visits, we saw that the number and budget of EU-funded projects have increased since Croatia became an EU member in 2013. We saw that they have come a long way in terms of infrastructure projects, energy efficiency in buildings, renewable energy, especially solar energy. 70% of Croatia’s 70% forest presence was also present in Karlovac. We encountered a lush, orderly, environmentally friendly municipality and city in the middle of 4 different rivers. So much so that they attach importance to afforestation, every tree in Karlovac has its location on the GIS system. They have converted all street lighting to solar lighting and replaced them with energy-saving LEDs, solar panels on public buildings, thermal insulation in buildings, and replacement of pipes in heating systems. Energy independence is a very important point for the whole EU with the Russia-Ukraine War, so they are more oriented towards renewable energy sources. We also took our part in this productive study visit.