• Energy Research
• 13. Climate action close
• Serbian close

The economy activity in Serbia is burdened by lots of unfavourable circumstances, including the natural catastrophe so far unseen on this area in May 2014. The unemployment is long-term problem not being resolved with the 'employment policies' but with promotion of investments and achieving the economic growth and development. However, all sectors cannot become the pillars of increase of number and creation of new workplaces. The creators of local economic projections and programmes most frequently use the word 'restructuring'. But in practice, the 'restructuring' demands much more complex and more serious approach so far, above all to public sector of economy. The Serbian energy sector, and above all its public sector, is in front of great challenges deriving from urgent needs of current rehabilitation of flood after effects, from new strategic demands, as well as from European standard. The energy sector is by tradition important determinant of growth and stability of the entire economy. In Serbia, that is especially important considering the state of the capacities and legacy from the past. Modernisation of energy sector implies the application of many new dimensions of sustainability which need to be achieved. Unused renewable sources represent the opportunity for the increase of green investments, sustainable employment, and 'green jobs' in this sector. 'Green economy' and sustainable energy sector represent great opportunity for the future of Serbia. Stabilization and ecologisation of the capacities for the production of thermoelectric energy, increase of the share of renewable sources, and above all the measures of energy efficiency will represent crucial steps and measures towards sustainable energy sector in Serbia. Perhaps they represent true challenge for new construction works, new infrastructure, rehabilitation of schools and hospitals, modernisation of agriculture and tourism, as well as new public and private sector manufacturing capacities.

The main focus of this paper lies with the national laws of three European countries (Germany, Austria and Hungary), as well as the EU law, relating to liability for damage caused by nuclear plant. The aforesaid European countries have enacted legislation prescribing stringent rules on liability of the operators of nuclear plants, meaning that for some forms of legally recognized harm (death, injury, damage to health) the operator incurs liability, even if damage was caused by force major. This type of strict liability, whereby force major is not reason for exculpation, provided that the damage could be related to functioning of the plant, is named absolute liability. In addition, some regimes introduce presumption of causality, when it is more likely than not that damage resulted from the effects of nuclear plants (or ionizing radiation, or secondary nuclear waste materials). The author also analyzes national and European rules on prevention of nuclear and other environmental damage, which includes the creation of the registry of nuclear plants with relevant data on domestic and European operators, the mechanisms of control of the operators, the requirement of preliminary ecological analysis in the construction of new plants, etc. In addition, the author observes differences between nuclear damage in broad and in narrow sense. The former is, in principle, redressed generally, to the extent possible. The latter is commonly redressed individually, to the extent prescribed by statutes.

In the context of climate change afforestation is often seen as one of the most important mitigation measures. Forestry as a branch aims to improve the state of existing forests and also to increase the total forest fund. The question is what can all be done in order to reach the second objective, i.e. to increase existing forest area? By the Spatial plan of Republic Serbia forest area should be increased from the current 29% up to some 900 km2 by the year 2020. For Vojvodina, where only 7% of area is under forest, priority task is to find possibilities to afforest agricultural, degraded and other categories of land so that targeted increase of 14% can be reached. While afforestation has legal and strategic support there is a growing need to consider other relevant aspects and innovative solutions within them. This paper focuses on the social science aspects and examines one possible option on how to establish and maintain relationship with the owners/users of land suitable for afforestation. This option refers to the concept of customer relationship management (CRM). The aim of the paper is to describe and understand the CRM-concept and its application in forestry. Criterion analysis has been applied in order to determine CRM-possibilities when identifying, contacting and communicating with owners/users of land sutable for afforestation as with potential customers.

Istraživanja u ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji sprovedena su sa ciljem utvrđivanja osnovnih parametara pojave nesrećnih slucajeva sa traktorima i drugim mobilnim mašinama u Republici Srbiji, u periodu 2005-2009. godina. Prvi deo istraživanja je obuhvatio nesrećne slucajeve u javnom saobraćaju. Drugi deo se odnosi na nesreće u uslovima poljoprivredne proizvodnje. Prikupljeni podaci su obrađeni, sistematizovani i predstavljeni u formi tabela i grafikona. U obzir su uzete određene kategorije uzroka događanja nesrecnih slucajeva, tipove nesreca, godine istraživanja i posledica događanja nesrećnih slucajeva. Rezultati pokazuju da se u javnom saobraćaju, u periodu istraživanja dogodilo ukupno 6.625 nesreca od kojih je 67,1% izazvano od strane vozača traktora. Od ukupno 329 nesreća sa tragično nastradalim licima 80,85% izazavali su vozači traktora i drugih mobilnih poljoprivrednih mašina. U ukupno pomenutom broju nesreća, nastradalo je 3.761 osoba. Od 345 tragično nastradalih lica, 80,57% je tragično nastradalo u nesrecama koje su izazavali vozači-rukovaoci poljoprivredne mehanizacije. Najuticajniji uzroci nesreća su: nepropisna brzina kretanja vozila, nepropisne radnje vozilom i psihofizičko stanje vozača. Najzastupljeniji tip nesreća su sudari (1.180 slucajeva) i sletanje vozila sa puta (599 slucajeva). Kada su u pitanju nesreće koje su se desile u uslovima poljoprivredne proizvodnje, u periodu istraživanja dogodilo se ukupno 903 nesreće u kojima je nastradalo 1.070 lica (17,38% je tragično nastradalo, 15,33% poginulo). Najveći broj nesreća/nastradalih lica zabeleženo je u Zlatiborskoj, Moravickoj i Beogradskoj oblasti. Najzastupljeniji tip nesreća je prevrtanje (47,4%) traktora i/ili agregatiranih prikljucaka i drugih mobilnih poljoprivrednih mašina. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da su nesrece sa mobilnom poljoprivrednom mehanizacijom u Republici Srbiji veoma česta pojava. Osnovni problemi su: nedostatak obuke za pravilno korišcenje i održavanje mašina, nedovoljno poznavanje saobracajnih propisa vozaca traktora, neodgovornost i nedisciplina prilikom korišcenja traktora i poljoprivredih mašina. U ovoj disertaciji su predložene preventivne mere kojima se broj nesreca može smanjiti, uz vece poštovanje zakona iz oblasti sigurnosti rada mašina, i posebno Zakona o bezbednosti saobracaja na putevima. occurrence of accidents with tractors and other mobile machines in the Republic of Serbia in the period 2005-2009. The first part of the survey included the accidents in public transport. The second part refers to the accidents in conditions of agricultural production. The collected data were statistically analyzed, systematized and presented in the form of tables and graphs. Specific causes of accidents, types of accidents, research period and the consequences of accidental events were taken into consideration. The results show that during the period of research, in public transport it occurred 6625 accidents of which 67.1% was caused by the driver of the tractor. Of the total of 329 accidents with tragic casualties, 80.85% were the drivers of tractors and other mobile agricultural machines. The total number of casualties was 3761 persons. From 345 tragic casualties, 80.57% died in accidents that drew drivers/operators of agricultural machinery. The most influential causes of accidents were: improper speed of the vehicle, improper vehicle operations and driver impairments. The most common type of accidents was collisions (1180 cases) and run-off-the road accidents (599 cases). In the conditions of agricultural production during the research period, it has happened a total of 903 accidents in which 1070 people were killed (17.38% tragic casualties, 15.33% died). The highest number of accidents/casualties was recorded in Zlatibor, Morava and the Belgrade area. The most common type of accident is tumbling of the tractor and/or aggregated implements and other mobile agricultural machines (47.4%). The results show that accidents with the mobile agricultural machinery in the Republic of Serbia are very common. The basic problems are: lack of training for the proper use and maintenance of machinery, tractor driver’s lack of knowledge of traffic regulations, irresponsibility and lack of discipline in the use of tractors and agricultural machinery. The main conclusion of this dissertation is that, preventive measures along with the greater respect of the law in the area of safe operation of machinery and the law on road traffic safety can reduce the number of accidents.

The aim of this paper is to point out the problems in the field of energy efficiency in Serbia and the needs for systematic measures for energy efficiency improvement in order to create appropriate conditions for sustainable industrial growth and development. The paper is consisted of three chapters and concluding remarks. In the first chapter was emphasized very low level of energy efficiency in Serbia, as well as very high energy intensity. This chapter provides also an analysis of structure of energy consumption in Serbia and selected neighboring countries. The legal framework for energy efficiency improvement in European Union and Serbia is presented in the second chapter of the paper. The adequate measures suggested by national policy for energy efficiency in order to stimulate industrial development are described in the third chapter. Finally, the last chapter summarizes key messages of the paper.

Biodiesel, an alternative to fossil fuels, consists of alkyl, usually methyl, esters of fatty acids (FAME). Conventionally, it is mostly obtained by homogeneous base catalyzed methanolysis of edible oils. Despite the significant advantages, the main drawbacks of this process are the high requirements in terms of the quality of the raw materials and environmentally unfavorable processes of catalyst separation and products purification. For these reasons, the researches of biodiesel synthesis are aimed at developing new processes that are economically and environmentally acceptable. In this paper processes of FAME synthesis, their advantages, disadvantages and opportunities for improving are analyzed, in order to develop processes suitable for industrial applications. The main aim was to present an overview of the researches in developing biodiesel synthesis providing a high FAME yield, which are environmentally-friendly and economically acceptable. Heterogeneously catalyzed process has most often studied, aiming at developing catalytic active, stable and cheap catalysts as well as at process improvement. The developments of enzyme and noncatalytic processes are mainly aimed at reducing production costs and increasing the FAME yield under mild reaction conditions, respectively. Generally, the perspectives of biodiesel synthesis include the use of continuous processes and suitable reactor systems.

This paper provides an overview of the most important elements of the Chinese and the European Union policies (EU) in the field of environment. The first part of the paper points to some characteristics of the environmental situation in China, the strategic framework and basic regulations of China in the environmental field. In particular, it emohasizes the main elements of importance for understanding the position of China in contemporary policies in the area of climate change. The second part of the paper analyzes the development and the basic elements of EU policy in the field of environment and climate change. The third part is devoted to the international legal aspects of contemporary policies in the field of environ­ment and the status of China, i.e. the EU and other countries in the most important international treaties in the environmental field. The main objective of this paper is to determine the similarities and differences in the policies of China, i.e. of the European Union in the field of environment and climate change. Criteria for the comparison include several elements: environmental assessment and contribution to global climate change, the historical development of policy and environmental law, policy objectives, the structure of the existing regulations in the field of environment, attitude towards international obligations and membership in international treaties of the global character, etc. The thesis is considered that the common elements of the policies of China and the EU in the field of environment are primarily determined by processes at the international level, the recognition of the need for solving global environmental problems and memberships in the relevant international treaties. In this regard, it is noted that there are certain elements that could be considered as a common policy for China and the EU in the field of environment, but that there were significant differences depending on the special social and economic development and the overall position in the international community.

Climate change, caused by anthropogenic factor, is one of the biggest global challenges. Universal interest for slowing climate change by adequate reduction of global emission of greenhouse gases and universal interest that all nations become capable to overcome effects of global change is beyond dispute. Global and local allocation of expenses of realization of the mentioned interests is a matter of global and local disputes. The Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is searching for new formula of equitable distribution of the expenses that would be acceptable for all. The formula should reconcile efficient reduction of global emissions and securing sustainable development for all. International protection of human rights offers a possibility to turn attention to interests of individuals in the context of climate change.

The decline in vitality and dieback of oak forests is increasingly present Vojvodina. This is old challenge for forestry, which again became actual. The paper used dendrochronological methods with the intention to describe trends in growth of pedunculate oak forests in Srem and trends of the water level of the Sava River and air temperature, which are defined as critical to the vitality of these forests. Predicted were water levels of Sava River in the 21st century with overview of its implications on the oak forests growth. Samples were taken from three stands in Srem (Stara Vratična, Smogva and Blate). Flows of Sava river were taken according to five climate scenarios for the periods 2012-2040 and 2042-2070, and converted into the water levels. A trend of decrease in growth in all three stands in last 30 years was observed, together with decrease in water level and temperature rise. Predicted future water levels of the Sava River were in general lower than those in the period 1951-1981, and higher than in the period 1982-2012. The differences between the various scenarios, as well as the impossibility of adequate simulations of extreme events, leavs space for further considerations.

Achieving the strategical goals in forestry of Republic of Serbia will not be easy in the light of climate change. Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) is the most economically significant and abound at pest in deciduous forests in Serbia. It is also very important pest in fruit orchards. His outbreak often has the character of a natural disaster that requires a significant commitment of manpower and financial resources in order to suppress it. We developed two models for predicting the occurrence of gradation (outbreak) and latency of gypsy moth population on the basis of monthly and quarterly values of climatic data for the period 1888-2010. The models were based on logistic regression. In the MODEL I, we have used the mean monthly temperatures from October of the year preceding event, temperature in January and March, and the rainfall in May, while in MODEL II, taken were mean temperatures of the first quarter and sum of the precipitation of the second quarter. Overall classification accuracy of the models were above 70%, while the prediction of outbreak based on MODEL I was 86%. The results of this study (models that can be applied in real time) can contribute to better decision-making in relation to forest management and protection of forests from gypsy moth in Republic of Serbia and wider.