Project leader
Email: davor AT bankwatch.orgTel.: +389 71 264 087
More from Davor Pehchevski
Ashes to ashes, state aid to dust
December 11, 2019 | Read more
In a world that is plagued by over-urbanisation, it is not common for people to move away from cities. One local in Șimnicu de Sus decided to leave the city in search for some peace and quiet – and got punished for it. The improperly managed ash disposal site from the nearby power plant is contaminating his house and the air he breathes with various pollutants. Now, there are even plans for expanding the site by using public money – the locals’ money.
The public prosecutor’s office in the city of Bitola on Friday filed criminal charges against the state-owned REK Bitola coal power plant and its Director for failure to implement mitigation measures at the plant’s ash landfill.
Prisoners of coal
September 6, 2019 | Read more
The Stanari coal-fired power plant, which started operating in September 2016, its ash disposal site, and the already-existing open-cast lignite mine have formed a curve around the north and east of the village. Now the locals in Stanari are regularly affected by pollution from different directions. The ones we spoke to, who live closest to the mine, claim that their health is deteriorating, their agricultural land is becoming useless and their homes are losing their value as the mine is devouring the nearby hills.
The preparation of the Skopje Green City needs to be transparent and to include citizens and civil society in a meaningful way from the early stages of planning.
A billions-worth problem
March 6, 2019 | Read more
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.
