Air pollution rises, government calls for concrete measures (media)
Koha news website reports that the Ministry for Environment and Spatial Planning on Tuesday called on the Ministry of Local Government to undertake measures against air pollution. In a letter sent on Tuesday, the Ministry of Environment called for an action plan that would regulate the movement of vehicles, heating in households, business and other services, with the aim of reducing air pollution. The Pristina-based civic initiative Breathe said that on Monday, Pristina was the city with the highest air pollution in the world. The news website also quotes Erzen Vraniqi, spokesman for Pristina municipality, as saying that the municipality has minimal capacities to address the problem of air pollution. Epoka e Re reports that the air pollution in Pristina is three times higher than normal values. Ferat Shala, Acting Minister for Environment, told Radio Free Europe on Tuesday that the ministry has set up a professional working group, which includes relevant stakeholders, civil society and experts, to analyse the situation with air pollution in Kosovo. The Kosovo Government, in its meeting today, discussed the air pollution in Kosovo, with Prime Minister Isa Mustafa saying that many households and businesses use coal for heating. “We need to have a plan so that we can prepare the necessary measures. Many households use coal because there has been progress with Termokos [heating plant] and the power plants. But we need to look into measures and find a more appropriate industrial solution because we cannot completely ignore the use of coal. We need protective measures,” Mustafa said. Acting Environment Minister Shala called for concrete measures and a plan to alleviate “the alarming situation”.