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SARAJEVO, September 7 (FENA) - Sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution from thermal power plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina increased in 2020, despite investments in desulphurization at the Ugljevik thermal power plant, according to a new report by the CEE Bankwatch network and the Center for Energy Research and clean air (CREA), which was created in collaboration with the Center for Ecology and Energy and the Center for the Environment.
A statement from the Environmental Center in Banja Luka said that this year the CO2 emissions from thermal power plants in the Western Balkans were 2.5 times higher than the total emissions of all thermal power plants in the EU.
The biggest culprit for sulfur dioxide emissions in the region is the Ugljevik thermal power plant, whose emissions exceed the sum of limits for all four countries in the region that have national plans to reduce emissions, while Kakanj 7 emitted 15 times more SO2 than allowed. In addition, the Gacko thermal power plant is the biggest culprit for emissions of suspended particles, emitting five times more than allowed.
Also, health models show that from 2018 to 2020, nearly 19,000 deaths were linked to emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Western Balkans.
"The attached results show all the nonsense about the desulphurization plant in RITE Ugljevik. Too much money and time has been invested for this plant to function only occasionally and pro-forma - someone here is playing with money and human lives, but no one is still responsible," commented Majda Ibraković from the Center for the Environment.
From 2018, the countries of the Western Balkans have an obligation to reduce emissions from thermal power plants in accordance with the EU Directive on Large Fireplaces. However, in 2020, thermal power plants in BiH covered by the National Emission Reduction Plan emitted as much as ten times more sulfur dioxide than allowed - 220,411 tons, while the allowed emissions were 22,195 tons.
This year, the Energy Community Secretariat initiated proceedings against BiH, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia and Northern Macedonia for violating the EU Large Fireplace Directive.
"The governments of the Western Balkans cannot dream of EU membership and export electricity to the EU, ignoring the rules on pollution control. The governments of the Western Balkans that have not yet done so, such as BiH, must set a date for the immediate cessation of coal use," said Ioana Ciuta from the CEE Bankwatch network.
(FENA) L. N.
