Sombor, Serbia – November 19 2019 – The launch of the project “Supporting low-carbon and climate resilient development in Serbian Cities” project took place today in the city of Sombor, Republic of Serbia. The project will be implemented in Sombor in cooperation with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and financial support from the Government of Hungary.

The project supports the integration of climate planning at the city level and the development of climate projects that will brought up to bankability, with focus on energy efficiency and renewable measures in public buildings.

At the event, the Mayor of Sombor, Ms. Dusanka Golubovic, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GGGI for the implementation of the project and cooperation between the city and GGGI.  In her opening speech, the mayor outlined her vision for the project, hoping it will result in the identification of good quality and practical solutions for the city of Sombor.

Representatives from the city, the Ministry of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia and the Provincial Secretariat for Urbanism of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina discussed the project and importance of climate planning at city level. It was also stressed that at the moment only few municipalities in the country have developed climate plans.

Cities can directly influence mitigation of greenhouses and take actions that will reduce the vulnerability of the population to the impacts of climate change. The co-benefit associated with the integration of climate considerations into city planning are multiple, from improved air quality, to reduced operations costs for heating purposes and the overall improved quality of life in cities.

Under the participatory approach, the results of the project will be shared, along with lessons learned with the aim of serving as a basis that will support climate planning in other city in the country.

About the city of Sombor:

City of Sombor is located in the north-west part of the Republic of Serbia, with the area of 1.216 square kilometers and has population of 85.903 people living in the city itself, 15 villages and 16 suburban settlements. The City of Sombor is also the administrative center of West-Backa county. Sombor has direct borders with two members of the European Union – Hungary and Croatia. UNESCO recognized the Special Nature Reserve „Bačko Podunavlje“ which stretches across the western part of the city. All of this, together with close proximity of major European river, road and rail corridors creates great investment potential in infrastructure, industry, agriculture and tourism.