Conference “Sustainable Growth from Biomass”

March 11, 2015

The conference ‘Sustainable Growth from Biomass’ will take place on March 26 2015 in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The conference is jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Embassy of Finland in Belgrade, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) with the support of the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia.

This conference, which aims at strengthening the cooperation between Finland and Serbia and creating the conditions for investments in biomass projects in Serbia, will gather relevant actors in the field of biomass from the two countries, enable presentations of best practices and business-to-business meetings, and present the results and activities of two biomass projects in Serbia.

This event is organised within the project ‘Reducing Barriers to Accelerate Development of Biomass Markets in Serbia’, funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and implemented by UNDP, the Ministry of Mining and Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protect. This project aims at reducing barriers and accelerating the biomass market in Serbia through supporting investments in 6 biomass/biogas fired combined heat and power (CHP) facilities and encouraging the development of 12 similar projects. It will undertake numerous activities, such as establishing a Biomass Support Unit (BSU) within the Ministry of Mining and Energy, improving capability of governmental/institutional bodies, municipalities and local entrepreneurs to develop bankable biomass energy projects, developing a biomass-related regulatory framework, and many other activities in order to create a favourable environment for biomass projects.

The conference is organised along with the visit of the Finnish Business Delegation to Serbia, led by Mr Matti Anttonen, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland. This contribute to the establishment of the economic and institutional cooperation between Finland and Serbia, with the aim to create conditions for more intensive investments into use of biomass for the energy purposes in the Republic of Serbia. It is especially important that during the conference, bilateral meetings of Finnish and Serbian company representatives will be held, thus enabling direct contact and cooperation opportunity.

Positive experiences and activities in the area of biomass utilisation in Finland will be presented at the conference, which will be an opportunity for the participants to share their views and experiences, and to initiate the business cooperation in this area between Finland and Serbia. Finland is known worldwide for its excellence in utilisation of biomass for energy production with efficient and environmentally sustainable technologies. This practice is due to great abundance of biomass as a renewable source in Finland and an exceptionally well developed regulatory framework in this area.

Along with the presentation of good Finnish practices, situation in Serbia and the co-organising above mentioned project, another biomass project in Serbia will be presented – ‘Mapping of the Municipal Spatial, Infrastructural, Resource Related and Logistic Prerequisites for Electricity and/or Heat Generation from Biomass in the Srem District’ , implemented by SCTM and supported by Finnish Embassy.

The Conference begins at 09:30, at the Conference Room of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Belgrade, Resavska 13-15, when Mr Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Mr Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia and Ms Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano, UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia will give welcoming address and open the floor for the speakers from two countries who will participate in two sessions, i.e. ‘The Enabling Framework’ and ‘Biomass Business Opportunities’.

The registration form, detailed agenda and the invitation letter provide all the additional information about the Conference.