“The approved strategy is very potential and we are all aware of it,” said the mayor’s deputy Petr Hlubuček (STAN), who is to prepare the plan in charge. He added that the plan was approved by the city in due course, also in connection with the changes brought by the covid-19 pandemic. “It is already clear today that one of the consequences will be a change in the structure of the whole economy,” he said.

Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) added that the city will open the possibility of financing from a number of European subsidy titles despite the projects verified in the plan. According to Hlubučka, the implementation of the plan using all subsidies for Prague will mean costs from its own resources of around two billion a year. “It’s something unrealistic,” he said. The city has recently experienced significant revenue shortfalls due to Covid-19 and tax changes, and has shrunk in a number of areas.

The strategy covers four basic areas. The first is sustainable energy, which includes energy savings in buildings, the installation of photovoltaic panels on roofs or the use of heat from wastewater for heating. The second area is sustainable mobility, which includes the purchase of electric buses for public transport or the construction of electric chargers. The third is the circular economy, which includes, for example, the construction of a biogas plant for food processing. The last pillar is adaptation to climate change, for example through planting greenery or better rainwater management.

ODS: It’s a moral hazard

The plan was criticized by the opposition ODS on Monday, according to which it was a “financial and moral hazard”. “The climate plan as proposed by the city council is a mere political proclamation. The coalition will raise unrealistic expectations and over time will have to quietly admit that the plan was unattainable. They should tell voters the truth, not the fairy tales,” he said. Chairman of the ODS Representatives Club Zdeněk Zajíček. In a similar vein, the vice-president of the ANO club, Ondřej Prokop, has previously commented on the plan.

According to Hlubuček, the plan is set exactly so that the representative can meet the city’s approved commitment to reduce tax emissions by 45 percent by 2030. “I certainly don’t think the plan is unrealistic,” he said, adding that it should be in principle.

The plan of specific projects includes, for example, the installation of photovoltaic panels on roofs, which the municipality plans to test in two apartment buildings in Černý Most. According to Hlubuček, the city plans to establish a special organization for renewable energy. In this way, the city could generate up to 30 percent of the metropolitan electricity in the future.

Likewise, according to Hlubučka, up to 30 of the heat needed to heat the city could be obtained from wastewater. These are heated and heat can be recovered from them using heat exchangers.

The plan also envisages charging for entry to the center, which has been discussed in the metropolis for some time. According to Hlubuček, the toll level should be linked to the vehicle’s emission class. The mushroom said that the city does not have the power to impose tolls at the moment, so this is more of a topic for future sets.