UNDP Resident Representative in BiH Steliana Nedera and Mayor of Bijeljina Ljubiša Petrović signed in Bijeljina a Memorandum of Understanding, defining cooperation between UNDP and the City of Bijeljina in the next 4 years on local development in several areas, with emphasis on energy efficiency projects.

The signing of the Memorandum was preceded by the development and adoption of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Action Plan (SECAP), by which the City of Bijeljina committed to achieve its goals in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation, with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions by a total of 1.5 million tons by 2030. The City of Bijeljina has already started the implementation of this strategic document and opened the door for energy efficiency initiatives, such as in public lighting, public sector, the decarbonization of the housing sector.

"The Memorandum defines the continuation of our successful cooperation, which has lasted for many years. Today we are opening a new chapter with the implementation of the City’s Action Plan on Climate and their vision to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," said Resident Representative Nedera and pointed out that the Bijeljina is one of the champion cities in implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals from the "Agenda 2030" and striving to be the City of the Future.

The 2030 Agenda recognizes the important role of cities and sets high development goals aimed at tackling chronic urban problems such as transportation, energy consumption, air pollution.

On this occasion, a Financial Agreement worth BAM 2,945,000 million was also signed, for the implementation of the energy efficiency projects in Bijeljina in the next 12 months, co-financed by the City of Bijeljina and UNDP, which will contribute to improving living conditions of citizens, cleaner air and environment as well as in savings of their electricity bills.

“The signing of this Memorandum places Bijeljina among the successful local communities in BiH, because it includes financing and implementation of several projects, such as construction and reconstruction of LED public lighting, procurement of equipment in the field of culture and sports, construction of public green areas and project documentation in the field of protection of environment. The City of Bijeljina has committed to finance these projects with about 2.5 million BAM," said Mayor Petrović and thanked the UNDP for the cooperation so far.