How will work on improving air quality by 2030, as well as what measures are necessary to meet this goal - these were the main topics of discussion during the second conference on the drafting of the Air Protection Program in the Republic of Serbia with an action plan on Friday, September 10, 2021.
At the conference held within the IPA 2014 project "Additional Development of EU Environmental Approximation for Air, Chemicals and Horizontal Acquis", State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental Protection Aleksandar Dujanovic said that improving air quality is an absolute priority of the ministry.
The preparation of this document will help us plan activities in the next 10 years, in order to ensure better air quality and reduce harmful emissions to human health and the environment. In this business, as a strong partner, we have the European Union, which has been working with us since 2019 on the development of this strategic document. Air quality is a common concern, responsibility and goal of the public, civil society, media, economy and every citizen, and that is why we are open and transparent to all interested parties in the drafting - said State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental Protection Aleksandar Dujanovic.
The conference presented the results so far, the status of drafting, options for resolving the remaining hotspots related to air quality, then reducing emissions and modeling results for three mitigation scenarios, as well as an analysis of the necessary investments and cost-effectiveness.
"Air pollution is a battle at the world level and Serbia is part of that battle. We need science to solve this problem, which is visible on this project through a team of consultants and scientists who worked on a detailed report, which we have been waiting for a long time. Serbia has already taken some measures, such as replacing old boiler rooms. Additional measures are being considered, since the pollution is systemic and originates from the structure of the energy and transport sector", said Antoine Avignon, the representative of the EU Delegation to Serbia, in charge of environmental protection and climate change.
The draft Air Protection Program in the Republic of Serbia with an action plan will define air quality goals and measures for their achievement and will provide a basis for further development and adoption of bylaws and continued implementation of European legislation in the field of air protection.
All material from the conference will be available from September 13, 2021 on the project website http://eas3.euzatebe.rs/ and the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The public will have the opportunity to send proposals and questions for this phase of the Program development by September 27, 2021, to the email address PZV-sugestije@eas3.rs. All received proposals will be taken into consideration in the further stages of drafting this important document.