In the statement of the Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) published on Tuesday, November 22, it is stated that the air in the previous days, except in Valjevo, was of good quality and appeals to citizens to contribute to the improvement of air quality by choosing environmentally friendly energy sources. Belgrade Open School considers this kind of appeal unacceptable because it represents the transfer of responsibility for air pollution from decision makers to citizens.
If you don't have environmentally friendly firewood, buy an environmentally friendly car
Although the data of the Environmental Protection Agency unequivocally show that individual fireplaces and heating plants contribute dominantly to air pollution in Serbia, it should be borne in mind that around 66% (two thirds) of citizens are heated with solid fuels and that a large part of these citizens are in conditions of energy shortage poverty. These are citizens who live in houses and apartments with little or no adequate insulation, which makes it difficult for them to get warm, who use old and inefficient stoves as a heating element, which produce large amounts of particle pollution, mainly using raw wood, raw coal, and often other non-energetic materials (such as old furniture, plastic and the like). These citizens cannot choose to use more environmentally friendly fuel, nor to reduce energy consumption, because they already consume minimal energy and allocate a large part of their household budget for it.
Precisely for this reason, the decisions implemented by the competent Ministry should be aimed at supporting energy efficiency measures and measures to reduce energy poverty that would contribute to the reduction of pollution coming from households. Instead, the Ministry of Environmental Protection continues to subsidize the purchase of electric and hybrid cars. With the rebalancing of the budget for the year 2022, more than 260 million dinars were allocated for the subsidy for the purchase of environmentally friendly cars, while significantly less was allocated for the replacement of boiler rooms for heating - about 190 million dinars.
Since the beginning of 2022, citizens in Valjevo have breathed polluted air for 97 days, and in Uzice for 112 days
In a statement, the agency states that in the previous period the air was rated as excellent, good or acceptable in almost all cities where monitoring is carried out. However, this situation is only currently and predominantly the result of favorable meteorological conditions, as can be seen from the Agency's monthly reports published during 2022. These reports say that from January to October 2022, the limit values of PM10 particles were continuously exceeded in Valjevo, Užice, Popovac, Čačak, Niš, Pirot, Novi Pazar, Kosjerić, Smederevo and Belgrade. Although the Law stipulates that the daily limit value of PM10 particles must not be exceeded more than 35 days in one year, until November of this year the citizens of Užice breathed excessively polluted air for 112 days, while the people of Valjevci were exposed to illegal concentrations of PM10 particles for 97 days.
Impaired air quality leads to 15,000 premature deaths in Serbia and creates serious respiratory and cardiovascular problems. The responsibility for excessive air pollution lies primarily with the holders of public authority, who should enact and implement appropriate public policies to improve air quality and consistently apply regulations, and above all, penal policies against polluters who violate regulations.
At the time of the energy crisis and when almost a quarter of Serbian citizens are at risk of poverty, shifting the responsibility to citizens as the main polluters, ignoring the power sector, industry and the economy to which the regulations are selectively applied, and calling for the use of more environmentally friendly energy sources is, at the very least, irresponsible considering that the measures implemented by decision-makers give insufficient incentive to citizens to improve their energy efficiency.
The Belgrade Open School, in cooperation with other civil society organizations, previously appealed to the inadequacy of the measures implemented to improve air quality and called on the competent institutions to base their decisions on the Agency's official data.
Authors: Mirjana Jovanović, Ognjan Pantić and Lazar Jovčić
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