Slovenia's successful path to sustainability

At this time of the increasing magnitude of the climate action agenda following the International Court of Justice ruling, one may come to wonder what sustainability efforts really work for nations. Beyond ambitious goals and global agreements, what are the proven feasible and effective strategies to approach climate action? While each nation's climate policies are subject to differ due to economic, social, and geographic circumstances, taking a close look at Slovenia's sustainable policies can help one have a better answer to this question.

Before exploring Slovenia's climate action, it is important to first understand the evergreen country's natural identity. The strong presence of a green environment can be proven by the fact that 60 percent of Slovenia is covered by forests and 40 percent is a unique landscape of naturally protected mountains. Along with the large portion of forests in Slovenia's natural environment, the country also strongly values water. Indeed, access to clean water is addressed in the constitutional law, meaning that Slovenian citizens are legally protected to obtain clean water. 

This strong natural identity sets Slovenia as a fundamentally ecofriendly nation, yet what really shapes the country as one of the most sustainable countries is the adoption of green policies. In July 2021, Slovenia adopted its own climate strategy goal by 2050, wherein it committed to being a carbon neutral society. Slovenia aims to phase out coal, and by 2030, completely eliminate the option of purchasing petroleum cars. This goal is already following a good track of success, as Slovenia has significantly incentivized the use of electric vehicles by creating mobile applications that allow citizens to easily rent electric cars even for short hours of usage. 

Slovenia also takes on the initiative of employing hydrogen as a source of energy, setting an example on how to utilize hydrogen as transportation means and providing heat. Employing hydrogen works for Slovenia because a surplus of solar energy is generated in the summer. This surplus of energy is used to produce hydrogen, which can be stored in gas pipelines and reservoirs for future energy use. Indeed, Korea is also working on expanding its hydrogen usage from the current local scale in Ulsan to a larger state-wide strategy. 

In addition to policies and energy usage, Slovenia is well-known for its sustainable ecotourism. Establishing the Slovenia Green Scheme, a nationaly certified programme of tourist destinations and businesses, the country is investing in ecotourism. In fact, Slovenia's capital city Lijublijana was selected as the European Green Capital in 2016, as the green and forested city exemplifies a complex waste disposal system and strong-established green transportation networks. Slovenia hence sets a model for the coexistence of nature, people, and profit through ecotourism that promotes their local culture, ranging from mountains to spas and beaches. 

Slovenia aims to spread these strategic pro-environment policies across the greater global community. Such goal can be seen in its role as an initiator of the Green Group, a group of countries that represents a diversity of climate issues—including Iceland, Costa Rica, Singapore, Cabo Verde, and the UAE. Additionally, Slovenia initiated bee diplomacy, a form of soft power diplomacy that sets bees, a pollinator that can help us sustain a healthy biodiversity and environemnt, as a symbol of sustainability. From being the first country to constitutionally protect bees to successfully lobbying the UN to declare May 20th as the World Bee Day, Slovenia exemplifies a holistic approach to climate action by employing soft diplomacy.