President Borut Pahor has established the Republic of Slovenia’s Consultative Committee for Climate Policy to create a science-based vision and make recommendations on climate policies that will be presented to national and international policymakers as well as the general public.

Dr Andreja Kutnar, InnoRenew CoE director, accepted an invitation from President Pahor to serve on the permanent advisory committee, which consists of eminent scientists and civil society professionals working in environmental protection and sustainable development.

“I was very pleased to receive the invitation from the President of the Republic of Slovenia and to become a member of a committee that is working in such an important field,” Dr Kutnar said. “I think it is clear to everyone how serious the situation is. It is about time we all move from words to actions, which can be effectively encouraged by decision-makers and policymakers.”

Joining Dr Kutnar on the committee are Dr Klemen Bergant, Dr Milena Horvat, Dr Jadran Lenarčič, Dr Andrej Simončič, Boštjan Videmšek and Urša Zgojznik.

At the end of October, the committee met with President Pahor to discuss the current situation in Slovenia related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its social and environmental consequences. They highlighted the importance of transition towards a green economy, including the principles of sustainable development, as well as the necessity of staying optimistic in hard times – and perhaps even finding an opportunity during the pandemic to develop innovations.

You can read more about the committee’s discussion with President Pahor and documents created for the Slovenian government, national assembly and citizens in the web article “To je poziv Pahorjevih podnebnih svetovalcev”, published in Finance, okolje & energija.