Dear Mayor Mytaher Haskuka,

Dear Sandra Horina, Head of ADA

Dear Members of the Prizren Green Growth Center,

Ladies & Gentlemen, Media

I am truly honoured to be here this morning to mark an important milestone of this joint project with you by inaugurating the solar power – or photovoltaic - system of the Prizren municipality building. What a great way to celebrate the Earth Day!

This year, as UNDP and as UN Kosovo Team – we are giving particular attention to the Earth Day. And not just one day. We have actually decided to celebrate the Earth Days in Kosovo – a full week of activities to raise awareness on the importance of environmental sustainability. We want to emphasize the role that each and every individual can play in protecting the Earth. We want to give ideas and inspiration for people to take action.

The theme of this year’s Earth Day is ‘Restore our Earth’. For the past 13 months, we have become very much aware of the fact how climate change and environmental degradation have broken our natural systems - leading to new and fatal diseases, and to a breakdown of the global economy.

But just as climate change and coronavirus painfully remind us of the damage we have caused as human beings, this year’s theme - Restore Our Earth - reminds us of the opportunities that lay ahead. Humans have the power to destroy, and the power to repair. Today’s ceremony is a demonstration of the decisive actions that people can take at local level to reverse the trend.

We know that energy production is the biggest contributor to climate change. Globally, 73% of human-caused greenhouse gases come from energy production. Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy is the only way the world can effectively tackle climate change.

And we know that moving from burning coal to using solar power also improves the quality of the air we breathe and makes cities healthier and more liveable.

I would like to congratulate the municipality of Prizren and its inhabitants for being the first ones to have a Municipal Building with installed solar power system! I think this is a great example of what happens when the community comes together to plan and decide on how to best tackle the challenges that they are faced with.

This solar power system is not just a solution to a problem – it also makes perfect economic sense. These solar panels will be producing an estimated 30% of the energy that the municipality building needs. And it will lead to a significant cut in greenhouse gas emissions, 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide (equivalent) per year, as estimated.

We truly hope that this initiative will set an example for other municipalities and public buildings to be followed.

For UNDP, the Urban NAMAs project has really been one of our flagship projects – one in which we are truly proud to be partners. The project is an example of what can be achieved when you bring together the people, the officials, the private sector, and some support from the international community. To help them analyze the situation, come up with an investment plan, by identifying concrete investment proposals – and then move ahead and test out some of them.

I would like to congratulate the Municipality of Prizren – and all its inhabitants - for this great milestone. You can truly be proud of what you have achieved. And of course – I would like to congratulate the team – the members of the Green Growth Center – that has facilitated this all!

We would not be here today – celebrating this milestone – if it was not for our main donor, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). I would like to thank ADA for your support and trust!

Special thanks to the Mayor for his visionary leadership and strong commitment to promote sustainable development – and make Prizren even more beautiful and liveable!

Wishing you all Happy Earth Day!