A billions-worth problem
March 6, 2019
Clean air has become a rarity in the Western Balkans, and so has proper air quality monitoring. In Europe, a whooping EUR 11 billion in lost productivity and health costs caused by air pollution from coal plants in the region dwarf the investments in the implementation of air quality legislation. The result is an incomplete and unreliable air quality monitoring system.
Chronic coal pollution
February 28, 2019
In the Western Balkans there are 16 outdated coal power plants that threaten public health by producing enormous amounts of air pollution, impacting people in the region, the EU and beyond. Every year they cause 3,000 premature deaths, 8,000 cases of b
România respiră aerul toxic al fostei Iugoslavii
February 20, 2019
În loc să închidă termocentralele locale, politicienii noștri construiesc altele noi. România respiră aerul toxic al fostei Iugoslavii.
Environmentalists seek tougher EU curbs on Balkan coal power plants
February 19, 2019
Environmentalists urged EU policy makers on Tuesday to take a tougher stance on air pollution from coal power plants in the Western Balkans, blaming the fumes for 3,900 deaths across Europe each year. Environmentalists seek tougher EU curbs on Balkan coal power plants.
EU action on Western Balkans’ chronic coal pollution is a unique opportunity to improve health and productivity
February 19, 2019
Brussels – Sixteen outdated coal power plants in the Western Balkans are a public health and economic liability for the whole of Europe, with people in the EU bearing the majority of the health impacts and costs, according to a new report [1] by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Sandbag, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, CEE Bankwatch Network and Europe Beyond Coal. The European Union (EU) needs to use all of the tools available to improve health, prolong lives, save health costs and increase productivity both in the EU and in the Western Balkan region.
Croatian coal plant must not be resurrected
February 13, 2019
The Plomin 1 coal plant, on Croatia’s Istrian coast, is already 50 years old. In 2017 it closed due to a fire. Yet the Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy looks set to allow Plomin 1’s owner, HEP, to bring it back from the dead without even an environmental impact assessment.
A New Year’s resolution for Novaci – clean air
January 15, 2019
Macedonia made headlines in December when the United Nations ranked its capital city, Skopje, as the most polluted capital city in Europe. If the ranking included non-capitals, it would not miss Novaci – a small village in the country’s south that also gasps for breath.
A Balkánról mérgezik egész Európát
December 19, 2018
2005-ben született meg az Európai Unió és annak szomszédai által létrehozott Energiaközösség azon határozata, hogy a nyugat-balkáni országoknak 2018-ig muszáj kontrollálniuk az erőműveik károsanyag-kibocsátását, mivel annyira szennyezők, hogy összesen.
Coal supplied by Hungary’s BAZ county mines to blame for growing air pollution
December 11, 2018
As new mines mushroom in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (BAZ) county, Hungary, air pollution picks up the pace, our independent air monitoring shows. Authorities need to help people move towards cleaner heating systems and put an end to coal mining in the region.
Results of air pollution independent monitoring call for immediate action in Balkan countries
November 26, 2018
Independent particulate matter monitoring implemented by CEE Bankwatch Network and partner organisations from the region between October 2016 and April 2017 in six different coal-heavy locations in the Balkans just scratched the surface of the impact t