On Tuesday, Minister of Finance of the Technical Government, Siniša Mali, assessed Serbia as "ecologically responsible", after it won the award "Pioneer in the field of green financing in the category of countries for 2021". On the other hand, research by the Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) shows that the air in Serbia in 2020 was excessively polluted in as many as fifteen cities.
The prize is awarded by the International Organization "Climate Connections Initiative", which promotes investments in projects and funds necessary for a rapid transition to an economy with low carbon emissions and climate resilience.
The recognition that Serbia received may place it among the most environmentally responsible countries in the world, but only according to the criteria of green financing.
Namely, as Mali reminded, last year, for the first time in its history, Serbia issued a green Eurobond in the amount of one billion euros for a period of seven years. It is not known what that money will be invested in.
Considering the excessively polluted air in Serbia, the minister's statement that Serbia is generally "ecologically responsible" sounds somewhat manipulative. Because Belgrade is very often at the very top of the world in terms of air pollution, and the rest of Serbian cities are not far behind.
Then there is the question of how accurate the data for last year will be in general. SEPA was allegedly late in announcing the tender for the maintenance and servicing of analyzers at automatic measuring stations, as well as the procurement of gas mixtures for self-adjustment of the devices. As they stated, the same scenario is repeated this year.
Sensitive and risky population groups, with such measurements, are unknowingly exposed to air pollution. The city of Šabac leads the way, the daily limit of dangerous particles has been exceeded in several places in the city.
Data on air pollution for the previous year will be available in September, and for the current year only from autumn 2023.
Due to air pollution, at the end of last year, Serbia was faced with waves of environmental protests against the Jadar and Rio Tinta projects. The list of "poisoners" is long, and the public knows the fact that it is difficult to find a river in the interior that does not have at least a little garbage next to it.
Bearing in mind all the ecological problems to which nature in Serbia is exposed, as well as Serbian society, the recognition that Siniša Mali is bragging about is good news, but it is also a kind of make-up for all the countless unresolved ecological negligence.
The results of the survey "Open the green door - What's your key word" presented on Tuesday at the EU Info Network conference show that almost 100 percent of respondents agreed that the environment in Serbia is "endangered to the extreme".
FM/ Nova S/ N1/ Fonet
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
