Environment and Energy

Stuck in the Past: Energy, Environment and Poverty in Serbia and Montenegro

• Stuck in the Past: Energy, Environment and Poverty in Serbia and Montenegro (2004)   (8.8 MB)

Energy use in Serbia and Montenegro is unsustainable, retarding growth, poverty reduction and human development. According to this study, nearly half the population has been marginalized by the energy-poverty nexus. To accelerate growth, reduce poverty and improve living standards, Serbia and Montenegro needs comprehensive policy reforms to establish an enforceable concept of property rights and public goods; build capacity; improve institutional and corporate governance; develop better long-term policy planning; improve information flows and structures; strengthen coordination among energy, health and poverty policies; and enhance international cooperation. Implementing energy efficiency measures could contribute to a boost in the GDP growth rate to 5%-7% a year--a leap that no other policy change could achieve.

Stuck in the Past: Energy, Environment and Poverty in Serbia and Montenegro
	Contents

Energy use in Serbia and Montenegro is unsustainable, retarding growth, poverty reduction and human development.

Drawing on new information obtained from three surveys (energy use patterns, perceptions about energy processes and services, and details about energy providers) and a series of focus groups, this report finds that while nearly half the population has been marginalized by the energy-poverty nexus, more than a quarter of the population is socially secure primarily because of the energy-related subsidies they enjoy.

Consider these other findings:

•	Average energy consumption per square metre of living space is about 2.5 times greater than in Northern Europe, yet in more than one in four households the amount of heated space per person is below minimum health standards.
•	Mortality is 30% or more higher in winter months than the monthly average, with poor households disproportionately affected.
•	More than half the population uses wood and lignite coal as the major source of energy for heating and cooking, creating high levels of indoor air pollution and leading to chronic illnesses.
•	Substandard heating devices and high emissions from thermal power plants, district heating plants and industrial energy use expose poor people to severe air and water pollution.
•	Carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP are more than twice the world average.

To accelerate growth, reduce poverty and improve living standards, Serbia and Montenegro needs comprehensive policy reforms to establish an enforceable concept of property rights and public goods; build capacity; improve institutional and corporate governance; develop better long-term policy planning; improve information flows and structures; strengthen coordination among energy, health and poverty policies; and enhance international cooperation. To improve energy efficiency and reduce poverty the new energy policy should remedy the uneven distribution of welfare benefits, especially the sizeable cross-subsidy from poor to rich. Implementing energy efficiency measures could contribute to a boost in the GDP growth rate to 5%-7% a year--a leap that no other policy change could achieve.

Contents

Executive Summary

Chapter 1: Why is More Efficient Energy Provision Critical for Serbia and Montenegro?

Chapter 2: Energy and Poverty

Chapter 3: Energy and Economy: In Search of Good Policy

Chapter 4: Provision of Energy Services

Chapter 5: Inefficient Energy Provision and the Indoor and Outdoor Environment

Chapter 6: The Distribution of Welfare Benefits towards the Better Off

Chapter 7: Coping Strategies

Chapter 8: Promoting Change and Improving Sustainability

Chapter 9: Recommendations

Annex A

Annex B