Montenegro is still without progress in air quality control, and there are no indications that the application of legislation has led to an improvement in air quality in critical cities such as Podgorica, Nikšić and Pljevlja, an assessment that is repeated in this or a similar form from year to year in reports. EC for chapter 27 - Environmental protection and climate change.
Year after year, the situation that the medium concentration limit of PM10 particles, harmful to health, has been drastically exceeded, is also repeated. The permitted limit is 35 days a year, and in Pljevlja it is consistently more than 100 days, in Nikšić and Podgorica more than 50. Bijelo Polje has recently caught this connection, which on certain days has a higher concentration of pollution than the traditionally polluted Pljevlja. That city was, of course, polluted before, but until a few years ago there was no measuring station in it and there were simply no official data on air quality.
The latest data show that, for example, in Pljevlja, based on data from the measuring station on the Gagović estate, in the last week of October, the highest exceedance of PM 10 particles in the air was recorded on October 25 at 21 p.m. and was 224,4 micrograms per meter per cubic meter, which is four and a half times more than the legally prescribed 50 micrograms.
At the same time, huge hourly exceedances of PM 2,5 particles were recorded, which were exceeded more than four times and amounted to 219,8 micrograms per cubic meter.
In Podgorica as well, the concentration of PM 10 particles in the air in the evening during the first two days of November was more than three to four times higher than the permitted values. At the measuring station in Block Five at 22 p.m. on November 1, the value of PM 10 particles was as high as 215 micrograms, which is more than four times the allowed average daily value.
The ecological movement "Ozone" has been monitoring the level of air pollution in the most threatened municipalities for years, and the director of that NGO, Aleksandar Perović, states that according to the data of the Environmental Protection Agency, until October 1, there were significantly more days in Pljevlja and Bijelo Polje where the average daily PM10 values were exceeded. particle.
"If we know that the number of days with exceedances is 35 per year, and that there were already 67 days in Pljevlje and 54 days in Bijelo Polje, it is clear that in the run-up to the heating season, when air pollution is expressed almost daily in those municipalities, we must be aware the seriousness of the situation. Both the citizens of Nikšić and Podgorica welcome the heating season with a significant number of days with exceedances of the average daily PM10 values, so it is certain that the number of 35 days allowed on an annual level will be exceeded this year as well in the two largest municipalities. In Nikšić until October 1, 31 days were registered with exceeding the average daily values of PM10, and in Podgorica in Block V 27 days, and in Zabjelo 28 days", said Perović.
According to the regional coordinator for the decarbonization of the heating sector in the Western Balkans of the CEE Bankwatch Network Nataša Kovačević, in order for Montenegro to start seriously dealing with reducing air pollution, it is necessary to get rid of the use of coal and other fossil fuels long before the announced year 2035, and to urgently redirect investment in the electrification of the heating and transport sectors, as well as the production of electricity from sustainable renewable sources.
She states that although officials announce the reduction of harmful gas emissions by 2030 to a still insufficiently ambitious 45 percent compared to 1990, this goal is not grounded in current plans and processes.
"In addition to the misdemeanor proceedings against Montenegro in front of the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community for violating the directive on large combustion plants, the state, instead of reducing the scope of work, allocates more and more money to justify the further burning of coal in the Pljevlja thermal power plant and beyond. Thus, new mines in Pljevlja, Mataruge and Glisnica are currently in the process of issuing permits, while the exploitation and export of coal has increased significantly. Also, with the project to build the primary heat pipe from the thermal power plant, EPCG is forcing citizens to allocate from their life, health and budget in the future to connect to a polluting source of heating, providing them with an alibi for burning coal for several decades", stated Kovačević.
She believes that "Montenegro needs a national operational program for the integration of heat pumps in collective and individual heating and a system of incentives that will make them competitive and available even for the most vulnerable categories of the population. The abolition of import tariffs and tax incentives for this technology would significantly help improve the competitiveness of heat pumps on the domestic market, as well as the development of domestic capacities for their production and installation".
In projects of cleaner energy production, she reminds, countries in the region such as North Macedonia and Kosovo are already using multimillion-dollar grants from the Investment Framework for the Western Balkans, as well as EBRD and EIB bank programs.
"In addition to harmful emissions from the energy sector, more and more frequent pollution occurs as a result of forest fires, as well as landfill fires due to poor management, which is why it is necessary to implement a strict penal policy and provide quality inspection supervision and control. Also, Montenegro must ensure continuous operation of measuring stations for air quality without interruption, especially in critical months, then national calibration of measuring devices, as well as regular and easily accessible information to the public about air quality".
Until now, the fight for better quality air with the authorities has mainly been reduced to the adoption of regulations, local and national plans, but everything remained only on paper. Years ago, the relevant ministry claimed that there was a "strong political will to reduce air pollution". Despite this, nothing was done during the mandate of the last Government, apart from providing funds for the ecological reconstruction of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant.
In cooperation with the Ministry and the Agency, local plans were adopted by the municipalities of Pljevlja, Podgorica and Nikšić. The Ministry, in cooperation with the EC, is preparing a new air quality management strategy. A plan of measures to reduce pollutant emissions with a financial analysis was prepared as early as November 2020, which must be aligned with current solutions in the energy and industrial sectors.
Even if it is to start implementation, to rehabilitate such a neglected state, massive funds are needed, which Montenegro and the municipalities do not have. In the latest proposal of the Local Environmental Protection Plan of the Municipality of Pljevlja, for example, for the improvement of the environment until 2026, it is necessary to allocate at least 108 million euros. The plan envisages that in 2026, all city boiler rooms will be out of use, and that Pljevlja will have 2.000 pellet stoves, twice as many as now, and 2.500 coal and wood stoves, and just for the replacement of heating devices and energy efficiency measures, an investment of five million euros.
Zagreb with more question marks
Zagreb has been smelling unbearably for weeks. The sour-sweet smell of the Jakuševac landfill could be felt for the first time this fall by the people of Zagreb who live kilometers away from New Zagreb East, the district where the landfill is located.
And those who live in its immediate vicinity have been complaining for days that the unbearable stench stings their eyes, which is why they don't stay in yards and terraces, and don't even dare to ventilate their homes.
Let's add to that the fact that the air quality measuring station Zagreb 3, located in the immediate vicinity of Jakuševac, shows poor results. And while at ten other measuring stations in Zagreb and its surroundings, the air quality is in good or acceptable parameters, Zagreb 3 is red or dark red, which indicates that the air quality there is bad, or very bad. This caused a rebellion among the residents of Novi Zagreb because they linked the situation to the events at the landfill, and the bad rhetoric of the mayor, Tomislav Tomašević, further deepened their suspicions.
Namely, on October 1st, Zagreb introduced a new waste management model that encouraged the people of Zagreb to start separating plastic, paper and bio-waste more in order to reduce their garbage collection bills. In the first month, waste separation in Zagreb increased by 27 percent because of this. Municipal waste that goes to Jakuševec has decreased, but the amount of separated paper, plastic and bio-waste that is processed at the composting plant within the landfill has also increased. Many therefore see the composting plant and the large amounts of newly arrived biowaste as the main culprits of the situation because the composting plant does not have the capacity to receive such quantities of biowaste. On the other hand, part of the received biowaste is contaminated while still in the bins and ends up in the landfill.
Therefore, many people think that the unpleasant odors of contaminated bio-waste deposited at the landfill thanks to air currents cause the stench in larger parts of the city under Sljemen.
“It is possible that it is so. Air flows, molecules move. There are no borders in open space that would prevent them from doing so," explains Jadranka Škevin Sović, Head of the Air Quality Sector of the State Hydrometeorological Institute, who does not connect the situation in Jakuševac with the increased values of PM particles at the Zagreb 3 measuring station.
In Croatia, according to reports, air pollution causes about 80 deaths per 100.000 inhabitants per year, and the biggest culprit is floating PM 10 and PM 2,5 particles, which when inhaled cause a number of problems from burning eyes and respiratory problems to damage to the circulatory or reproductive systems. Along with Osijek, Slavonski Brod and Kutina, Zagreb is the most polluted city in Croatia, and the reason for this, Jadranka Škevin Škorić explains, is, among other things, its geographical location.
"During the cold part of the year in Zagreb, there are frequent fogs. Due to heavy traffic, and many households heating with solid fuels, mostly wood, we have increased emissions of floating particles. Accelerated by atmospheric conditions, in stable situations such as fog, when there is no ventilation, floating particles are strongly concentrated near the ground. This is not unusual for other large cities in Europe, but western and northern Europe take better care and implement air protection measures," he says.
When it comes to floating PM 2,5 particles and their concentration, in 2020 and 2021, Zagreb was at the bottom of the air quality ranking of cities with 50.000 inhabitants of the European Environment Agency.
"Out of 344 listed cities, Zagreb is 282nd. Ljubljana is a little better, in 279th place, but for example Torino is in 315th and Milan in 318th place. So we cannot say that we are the worst," says the scientist. However, in the last twenty years, the quality has been improving, he adds.
"Higher quality fuels are used, more households are connected to heating plants, there are fewer small fireplaces with solid fuels and fuel oil, and more with gas, higher quality fuels are used for cars, and in Zagreb, unfortunately, there is no more industry, which also contributes to a better air quality", he concludes.
Despite the fact that the increase in PM particles at the Zagreb 3 measuring station was not linked to the events at the composting site, and the city government did not admit that the stench was connected to the increased flow of biowaste to the landfill, Mayor Tomašević still announced on Thursday that he would determine the cause of the stench, and that it will stabilize the biowaste with algae, wood pulp and microorganisms and cover it with a protective layer.
Anti-pollution spot
This year alone, Belgrade appeared dozens of times at the top of the world's lists of the most polluted cities, expert institutions claim that during the last ten years, more than 100.000 people lost their lives prematurely due to air pollution in Serbia, while the competent institutions deal with cosmetic issues and not real solutions. . During that time, citizens hear the story from the highest officials in the country that the issue of pollution is exaggerated, and that it represents "propaganda" by a small number of independent media that are trying to draw attention to the burying of this dangerous and far-reaching problem.
The air condition in Serbia is, however, much worse than Belgrade's position on the world lists indicates, warns Dejan Lekić from the National Ecological Association (NEA).
"Belgrade very often, especially during the heating season, appears on world lists as one of the most polluted cities in the world. It is actually a list of the IQ Air application, which tracks pollution from state and civil monitoring around the world. What is worrying is the situation that when Belgrade is in second or third place on such lists, according to internal top lists, prepared in an identical way, it is actually in 20th or 30th place compared to other municipalities in Serbia. In all cases, except in the case of the city of Bor, the reasons are increased concentrations of suspended particles, better known as PM particles, with a diameter of 2,5 or 10 micrometers. We arrive at this indicator when we take data from two parallel monitoring in Serbia, the state one, which is carried out with over 66 reference automatic stations and more than 300 civic, small devices that citizens themselves install on their terraces or in yards, and procure them through the support of non-governmental sector or they buy them themselves, explains Lekić.
As he states, those cities are under pollution which is a combination of pressures that comes regularly from the thermal energy sector, then from industry, and then from traffic.
"And as the 'icing on the cake' appears the emission of polluting substances of small particles from small furnaces and boiler rooms for heating purposes. In the latest report of the National Environmental Protection Agency, which was published in 2020, it is written that the influence of small individual combustion plants is even over 60 percent of the total pressures on the environment for PM 2,5 particles, while for PM 10 the impact is over 50 percent, Lekić adds. and concludes that the situation is expectedly worse in those cities where there is some developed industry, but that this is not always the case.
And while the competent Ministry for excessive pollution mostly blames meteorological conditions, the National Environmental Organization announces that official data show that the energy sector in Serbia emits five times more pollutants into the air than expected based on the consumption of lignite. As experts from NEA explained, given that the largest stationary sources of suspended PM 10 particles are thermal power plants and heating power over 50 megawatts, and measurements show that citizens of Serbia are five times more poisoned than citizens of other countries that also use lignite as an energy source. , such a disproportion could be evidence for claims that our thermal power plants burn mud and dust instead of lignite, so the key question is whose decision and responsibility citizens are being poisoned five times more than the already critical level.
In such a situation, the competent Agency for Environmental Protection has not yet, even though it is the end of the year, published six regular reports concerning the situation in various areas of the environment, and the public does not know why this is so. At the same time, the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, said in her last television appearance that certain media "frivolously and casually" deal with the topic of pollution.
Citing IQ AIR data from last year, Brnabić said that Belgrade is 73rd on the list of the most polluted cities in Europe, if you look at the whole year cumulatively, and that "the air quality is significantly worse in Sarajevo, Skopje and Zagreb".
"But if you look at their media, that topic is not, for example, in the Croatian media. After all the campaigns carried out by the media here in Serbia, if you were to go out here now on the street, everyone would think that we are like New Delhi or Calcutta. I don't want to minimize this problem, but there is really no need to present ourselves as worse than it is," said Prime Minister Brnabić.
However, the lower officials of the Serbian Progressive Party are also on task. For example, one of them recently wrote on his Twitter account that Belgrade is among the best in Europe in terms of air quality. "Košava did its thing, like every time for decades. Do not fall for the campaign of fake environmentalists and demagogue politicians".
During that time, the City Institute for Public Health broadcasts an educational video in which it says that "life must go on" even in conditions of high pollution, and that citizens should "adjust" their activities to those conditions, to "harmonize their habits" and outdoor activities redirect to closed space.
Sarajevo is in a polluted pot
The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina is, apart from the Olympics, Indexes, Mirza Delibašić, kebabs and good pie, unfortunately also recognizable in European and world circles for its disastrous air. Until now, we have been world champions several times and have surpassed India's New Delhi and Pakistan's Lahore in terms of smog and fog, cities where pollution is almost a daily occurrence. As far back as 1974, "Oslobođenje" dealt with this problem in the texts "Constant fight against air pollution" and "Smoke dawn". It is written in this first one that an improvement has been made, but not enough. The mayor of Sarajevo at the time, Emerik Blum, tried to find a solution with a loan of 300 million dollars, thanks to which gas reached the part of the city and expelled low-quality coal.
In 1990, BiH explained poetically that this plan did not drive polluting particles out of our city. musician Dino Merlin, with the widely known hit "Fog fell halfway to Sarajevo", in which neither house nor gate can be seen, and today, 32 years later, the fog has conquered the entire city. Just as Josipa Lisac says in the song: "Fog everywhere, fog around us"...
But back to pollution. The city on Miljacka has been among the most polluted cities in the world for decades, says Martin Tais, a specialist in air quality and climate change.
"One of the main air pollutants is old cars and unplanned construction, because buildings near the bed of the Miljacka prevent the flow of air. There will always be fog in Sarajevo, as something peculiar to this city. We cannot look to the sky to see if the weather will be stable. We are in the pot. At 300 meters, the cover cannot be raised. There is no human energy to move that lid. Only natural energy, such as wind, rain and snow, states Tais and points out that 30 million marks should be allocated annually to solve the problem of polluted air in Sarajevo Canton.
There could be less fog, notes Tais, if a recipe from London that had big problems with smog in the XNUMXs was applied and solved it.
"How did he solve it? By banning the burning of coal. And our authorities are not doing anything about it. They have no long-term vision. We cannot "warm up" a few objects and think that we have solved the problem. We have not, and I doubt that we will solve it, because we do not want to give up the polluter, so there is no way out for us. Especially this winter, because the prices of gas, heating and electricity are rising enormously, so people will burn whatever they can find and we'll be back to square one," says Tais.
Sarajevo is not the only polluted city in BiH. The air is not good in Zenica, Tuzla, Banja Luka, Brod, Visoko and Bijeljina. However, as shown by the three-year IMPAQ project carried out in cooperation with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the burning of biomass in Sarajevo has reached as much as 26 percent, while the contribution from burning coal is 14 percent. The results for Banjaluka show that around 35 percent of PM 2,5 pollution was emitted by burning biomass and coal used for heating.
And the authorities, at least in the country's capital, have been promising a smog-free life for years, but generally little is being done about it. There are projects, plans, implementation is absent or negligible. We know that from November, at least this year, until March, we inhale fog and smog almost every day and we are constantly in episodes of "warning" and "preparedness", because PM particles of dust, oil, gasoline, coal do not exceed the permitted limits, but are at least two up to three times higher than allowed. Then there is an appeal to reduce the movement of motor vehicles, odd-even driving is introduced due to pollution, and in 2016 citizens were asked to reduce the use of coal. Gasification projects and so on are regularly announced. Citizens are being poisoned, authorities in Sarajevo Canton are making promises, and the state is silent and not concerned at all that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 3.300 people die every year as a result of exposure to ambient air pollution. And they don't care about the data of the World Health Organization, according to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is in second place with the death rate due to air pollution, which means that we narrowly escaped North Korea, which has the highest death rate in the world.
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