Role of Oil in Energy Transition in focus at the Energy Community Oil Forum in Belgrade

The 15^th Energy Community Oil Forum discussed the essential role that oil could play in the energy transition in addressing climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and transitioning to a more sustainable energy future. The Forum was opened on behalf of the Government of Serbia by the Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović, emphasising that higher security of supply and preserving predictable petroleum product prices is a priority for the Government in the oil sector.

The Deputy Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, Dirk Buschle, recalled that accelerating the energy transition in the Contracting Parties depends on implementing policies and regulations conducive to achieve emission reduction targets, including incentives for renewable energy deployment, boosting energy efficiency and carbon pricing mechanisms. The 2030 energy and climate targets adopted in December 2022 are essential to put the Contracting Parties on a path towards achieving climate neutrality of their economies by 2050 and decreasing dependence on fossil fuels.

The Secretariat welcomed the progress made by Serbia and North Macedonia in implementing the Oil Stocks Directive 2009/119/EC and, in the meantime, informed the Forum about prospective actions concerning Contracting Parties which have not transposed the Oil Stocks Directive on time.

Implementing the Fuel Quality Directive in the Energy Community as part of the European Green Deal was another critical topic explored during this event.