Western Balkans: coal pollution increases due to government failures – new report
September 17, 2024
In 2023, Western Balkan governments’ dereliction of their law enforcement duties again allowed an increase in sulphur dioxide (SO2) pollution from the region’s antiquated coal power plants, according to the sixth edition of Bankwatch’s Comply or Close report, published today (1). Dust and nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution from coal plants also continued to exceed legal limits.
Comply or Close 2024: six years of deadly legal breaches by Western Balkan coal plants
September 17, 2024
The end of 2023 marked six years since the deadline passed for power plants in the Western Balkans to meet new air pollution standards. Yet the deadly air pollution from the region’s mostly antiquated coal power plants has hardly decreased at all since 2018.
Pljevlja I power plant, Montenegro
December 16, 2021
The existing 225 MW Pljevlja thermal power plant in the north of Montenegro, near the borders with Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been operating since 1982. The plant was originally planned to comprise two units but the second one was never built. The plant, along with the extensive use of coal and wood for heating, has caused unbearably bad air quality in the town.
