stances, such as the Kosinj hydropower plant, 169 and the formal nature of most public consultations. The NECP development process was particularly problemat­ic, with just four working days’ public consultation on the first draft, 170 and the final Plan does not include a summary of the public’s views, how they have been taken into ac­count, or whether the draft plan was subject to a strategic environmental assessment. 171 As a result of failure to truly consult the public, public partic­ipation is often reactive. Grassroots and NGO campaigns have prevented a number of ill-advised energy projects in recent years, 172 so it is very much in the authorities’ interest to avoid such situations by better consulting in the first place. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS To achieve a more inclusive energy transition Croatia should accelerate the adoption of measures for prosumers and re­newable energy communities. It should also adopt and im­plement the Energy Poverty Elimination Programme and monitoring system. This would further contribute to the in­clusiveness of the energy transition. More efforts are needed for enabling citizen access to re­newable energy and energy efficiency measures and for en­abling community actions aimed at inclusive energy transi­tion – primarily for citizens at risk of energy poverty and cit­izens affected by the 2020 earthquakes. A plan for the implementation of its long-term decarbonisa­tion strategy would be useful for planning its fossil fuel phase-out in an orderly way, together with a just transition for the affected regions. The update to its NECP needed under the Fit for 55 package should provide an opportunity to make up for the deficien­cies in public participation observed in the first process, but improvements are needed across the board, for all policies and infrastructure projects. 169 Zelena akcija,‘Podrška stanovnicima Kosinjske doline’, Zelena akcija, 2 September 2021. 170 Zelena akcija,‘The Croatian Government is not interested in the pub­lic opinion on national climate policy’, Zelena akcija, 15 December 2020. 171 European Commission, Commission Staff Working Document, As­sessment of the final national energy and climate plan of Croatia, 14 October 2020. 172 These include the Plomin C coal power plant, the Vis Viva Peru ć a gas power plant and the Ombla hydropower plant. 33 Croatia