Climate change mitigation - State and impacts (Serbia)

The effects of global warming on the territory of Serbia are evident from a long series of meteorological data. Annual temperatures and annual precipitation for the period 1888-2008, measured at the Belgrade Meteorological Observatory, can be used for illustration. Values for each year are calculated as normalised departures from the 1961-1990 average (Figure 1).

Warmer years dominated in the post-1990 period and most of them had a deficit of precipitation. From 1990, the extremes of temperature were higher than average, with the year 2000 being the warmest. Other analyses indicate that the trend of increasing air temperature in Serbia since 1990 is several times higher than in the previous period. Summer 2008 was the 19th successive summer that was warmer than normal.

Figure 1. Increase of frequency of climate extremes over recent decades; Normalised departures of annual temperatures and precipitation in Belgrade, period 1888- 2008. (source: RHMS)

Droughts have been frequent since 1990, and their intensity and duration have also increased. This has had a great impact on many activities, primarily the production of food and energy, human health, biodiversity, and water supply. Serbia is located in a region of the world considered vulnerable to climate change (IPCC, 2007).

Serbia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning is the focal point to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol. The Climate Change Unit (CCU) was established within the Ministry in 2008. This unit is responsible for the initiation and coordination of climate change-related activities.

The first National Communication is in preparation, and should be finalised by the end of 2010. In the meantime, and taking into account the current negotiation process under the UNFCCC, Serbia has started to prepare a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, projections until 2020, and identification of potential mitigation activities, using its own financial resources. 

A new legal framework for environmental protection was introduced in 2004 by the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Strategic Environmental Assessment, the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and the Law on Integrated Prevention and Pollution Control. In order to improve the state of the environment, the Republic introduced a new legal framework for environmental protection harmonised with the EU acquis. Thirteen new laws in the field of the environment, such as the Law on Air Quality, the Law on Waste Management and the Law on Packaging and Packaging Waste, were adopted by the Serbian Parliament in May 2009. Taking into account the provisions of EU Directives and Decisions transposed into these laws, it is expected that their implementation will affect future GHG emission reductions.