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Year after year, polluted air throughout Serbia is a growing problem. Data from world agencies also show that Belgrade is often among the most polluted cities in the world. Despite this, there is a lack of concrete steps from the authorities to solve the problem. The Regulatory Institute for Renewable Energies and the Environment also claims that the criteria for assessing air quality have recently changed, further complicating the situation.
Air pollution does not decrease. Day by day, it is getting harder and harder to breathe in Subotica, Pancevo, Smederevo, Bor, Kostolac, Valjevo, Novi Pazar, Uzice, Kosjeric. It is also polluted in Belgrade, which is why, according to world agencies, it is often on the throne relative to the world’s cities, but also the largest industrial giants.
However, the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to change the criteria for evaluating air quality. RERI also states that polluted air has so far been considered acceptable.
“They changed the parameter for PM 2.5 particles, so they are the most dangerous small particles that remain in the air for a long time and cause serious health problems in contact with the bloodstream and lungs, so one has changed of the most sensitive parameters and values possible “, he explains. Jovan Rajic, RERI.
However, there is no reason to worry, warns the Environmental Protection Agency. Authorities say they did not address the mitigation of the air rating index.
“The changes introduced refer exclusively to the harmonization of the range of the air quality index, and not to changes in the criteria for evaluating air quality, which, unlike the air quality index, are covered by the legislation from Serbia, “says the Environmental Protection Agency.
The air quality criteria in Serbia are significantly lower than those prescribed in the European Union, which is unacceptable, notes the assistant of the Faculty of Political Science, Marko Vujić. It also says that the Environmental Protection Agency did not explain to the public precisely which indexes changed and which did not.
“Personally, as someone who deals with this area tangentially, I have read the statement three times and I must admit that it is not clear to me: what exactly does it refer to, what criteria will be used, what I am clear about is that what already exists is legally codified, so that it is legally conformed by the old regulation of air quality monitoring, and that this is only an attempt to compensate the situation, that is, a new criterion according to which it will be presented to citizens better air quality, “says Marko Vujić of the FPN Center for Environmental Policy.
Environmental experts also say that the frequent postponement of the opening of Chapter 27, which refers to ecology, and which is important for Serbia’s accession to the European Union, is the best sign that many environmental problems are not being addressed. have resolved. However, for now, however, there is no clear data on what the authorities will do to improve the situation.
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