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Irena Križ Jelendić
Episode · #680

ZGRADONAČELNIK Irena Križ Šelendić

Guest Irena Križ JelendićHosted by Tin BašićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

The ambition to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050 hinges on a sweeping transformation of its building stock. In Croatia, however, this goal faces a complex economic reality: while energy prices have remained low due to government intervention, construction costs have soared following recent earthquakes and increased demand. This dynamic, as Irena Križ Jelendić, Director of the Directorate for Energy Efficiency in Buildings at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction, and State Assets, explains, fundamentally alters the calculus of renovation. Her perspective reveals how policy must adapt to market forces, navigating the gap between environmental imperatives and the practicalities of implementation. Readers will gain a clear understanding of the unique challenges and strategic shifts required to drive large-scale energy efficiency in a volatile economic landscape.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Irena Križ Jelendić states that "energy renovation is certainly less profitable in Croatia now than it was ten years ago because energy prices have remained low thanks to government measures, while construction costs have risen dramatically." This inversion of the economic logic means government grants are not a bonus, but a necessity for deep renovations to be financially viable.
02
While 1,390 projects (542 multi-apartment, 849 public) were completed with EU funds, the actual annual renovation rate of 0.7% of total floor area falls far short of the 1.6 million square meters needed. Measuring renovation success by project count can obscure the true scale of the challenge; the real metric for climate neutrality is the total floor area renovated.
03
The ministry's data on renovated buildings only includes those that received subsidies, omitting countless private renovations where owners used their own funds and for which no permits were needed. Official statistics for energy renovation likely underestimate actual activity, hindering a complete picture of progress and needs.
04
A recent call for family home renovations received 11,926 applications for 120 million euros in just 36 hours, indicating a strong public willingness to invest if sufficient funding is available. This rapid oversubscription underscores the persistent demand for grants despite the changing economic calculus.
05
The latest call for multi-apartment buildings, with a nearly 100 million euro allocation, will use a ranking system for applications, moving away from a "first-come, first-served" approach. How grants are allocated fundamentally shapes project quality and equity, signaling a strategic focus on impact and broader access over rapid disbursement.
06
Croatia has a program for mitigating energy poverty in areas of special state concern, with an allocation of over 88 million euros for 300 buildings. Energy renovation is not solely an environmental or economic issue; it is a critical tool for social equity, directly addressing energy poverty in vulnerable regions.
07
When asked who will perform all the necessary work, given the ambitious targets, the host raises the question from civil engineering professors: "who will do all this work?" The bottleneck for achieving ambitious renovation targets is not just funding or homeowner demand, but the physical capacity of the construction sector itself.
08
The ESCO (Energy Service Company) model, which contracts an energy *service* rather than just works, was used to renovate 61 large public buildings like hospitals in the past and is now targeting another 208,000 square meters. For very large, continuously operating public buildings, contracting an energy service shifts performance risk to the provider and incentivizes long-term efficiency.
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