Slovenia Slovenia

Slovenia maintains its ranking of 41st in this year’s CCPI and is among the countries with a low performance.

It receives a low in the Climate Policy, Energy Use, and GHG Emissions categories, and a medium in Renewable Energy.

Despite recent major impacts from climate change, such as massive forest fires and flooding, Slovenia has not taken a leadership role in climate action. While the country has embraced the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the goal of achieving climate neutrality, the CCPI country experts point to a lack of ambition and implementation in various sectors. They note weak climate governance, exemplified by the lack of an overarching climate law. However, a climate law has finally been drafted and is under public discussion.

Implementation is falling short

Coal-fired power plant, which provide around a third of the country’s electricity, will not close until 2033. However, the national target for 2030 under the European Union’s Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) is to reduce emissions from sectors outside the EU ETS by 28–31% from 2005 levels, which is higher than the EU’s 15% average. Continued subsidies that encourage fossil fuel use pose a significant concern. Although Slovenia’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan includes a medium-term objective of substantially reducing fossil fuel subsidies, implementation is falling short.

The share of renewable energy in total energy consumption in Slovenia is comparatively low among European countries. The experts do, however, see a slight trend towards greater emphasis on community projects. One specific problem in the implementation process is the long delays in obtaining the necessary permits for installing photovoltaic panels and connecting them to the electricity grid. The experts also point to weak policies on biofuels and the need for action in the transport sector, where only 3.1% of new automobiles registered in 2020 were zero-emission vehicles. They also criticise the lack of emphasis on public transport.

The experts look favourably upon Slovenia’s long tradition of sustainable forest management, and they report forestry is one of the sectors that has paid the most attention to climate change adaptation measures.

On January 1, 2023, Slovenia started implementing its main agricultural policy, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan for 2023–2027. In 2021, greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector accounted for 11% of total emissions in Slovenia. There is a non-ambitious target for the agricultural sector to reduce emissions by only 1% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels (NECP). The long-term target for Slovenian agriculture, and one also lacking ambition, is reducing emissions by 22% by 2050 compared with 2005 levels (long-term climate strategy). The national agricultural policy supports livestock and fodder production. The share of organic land is small and growing too slowly. In 2022, organic production accounted for 11% of agricultural land, and the current policy foresees 18% by 2027, still well below the 25% by 2030 target set by the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy.

Policies should be aligned with the Paris Agreement

The CCPI experts suggest several changes for Slovenia’s legislation.

The coal phase-out should be brought forward to 2030 instead of the currently planned 2033. Subsidies for fossil fuels should be abolished. In agriculture, investments and incentives for organic food production should be increased. Economic instruments and policies for sustainable transformation of the livestock sector, and promotion of plant-based diets, should be introduced. The government should also accelerate energy production from renewable sources while focusing on reducing overall energy consumption and energy poverty. More institutional and financial support for community projects is needed. And natural sinks should be increased, while their resilience to climate change is improved.

To address climate change-related global inequality, the experts encourage the Slovenian government to contribute its fair share of funds for mitigation, adaptation, and compensation (loss and damage) for climate-vulnerable and low-income countries. It should also support developing and adopting an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights recognising the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.

Domestically, Slovenia should ensure that climate change policies reduce systemic inequalities and don’t disproportionately affect low-income households. Overall, policies should be aligned with the Paris Agreement through adopting additional measures and improved targets, and the government should start implementing existing measures to improve the country’s climate governance and performance.

Key Outcomes

  • Slovenia maintains its ranking of 41st in this year’s CCPI
  • A climate law has finally been drafted and is under public discussion
  • Key demands: policies should be aligned with the Paris Agreement and the government should start implementing existing measures to improve the country’s climate governance and performance

 

CCPI experts

The following national experts agreed to be mentioned as contributors for this year’s CCPI:

  • Umanotera (The Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development)
  • Focus Association for Sustainable Development)

Key Indicators

CCPI 2024: Target comparison