Croatians say no to coal in referendum

January 26, 2015

Zagreb – Inhabitants of the city of Ploče on the Croatian coast overwhelmingly rejected a plan to build an 800 MW coal plant in their town in a referendum taking place over the weekend. The vote raises questions about the acceptability of other coal projects planned in the country, including the controversial Plomin C.

„We congratulate the citizens of Ploče for the excellent result in yesterday’s referendum,” says Bernard Ivcic from Zelena Akcija. „This vote clearly shows that Croatians are worried about the environmental and economic consequences of coal plants, that such projects are not welcomed here, and that it would be very difficult for investors to implement them.”

Over 90 percent of those voting in the referendum in Ploče said no to the new coal unit, and the 60 percent attendance rate means that the vote is valid. While the referendum is not legally binding, the mayor of Ploče stated that the vote represents the will of the people and should be taken into account by central authorities.

The new 800 MW unit in Ploče was proposed last year by Luka Ploče energija and it has the backing of Croatia’s ministry of economy. However, locals have been protesting against its construction arguing that it would negatively affect the health of the people in the region.

„The referendum in Ploče is also a strong signal to the Croatian government and to our state electricity company HEP that residents of Istria could vote the same in a potential referendum about the Plomin C coal unit planned in their region,” adds Ivcic. „The time for pushing dubious projects through against the will of the people has passed.”

The Croatian electricity company HEP is planning to construct a new 500 MW unit at the Plomin power plant on the Istrian coast. The project is already marred in controversy, not only because of its potential health and environmental costs, but also because of doubts about its economic viability and concerns about the corruption record of the two companies tasked with constructing the unit, Japanese Marubeni and French Alstom.

“This referendum is not only a warning for the future of coal in Croatia, but also for the entire Balkans, where authorities have been proposing a series of environmentally harmful and economically shaky coal projects over the past years, without consulting their citizens,” says Ioana Ciuta from Bankwatch. “Listening to its citizens and rejecting coal would bring Croatia closer to the European Union’s decarbonisation goals, an objective all governments across the Balkans must take seriously.”