EU exposes Veliaj's lie/ Raise the alarm, Albania, urgent challenge for air pollution

2024-10-12 16:07:00, Aktualitet CNA

EU exposes Veliaj's lie/ Raise the alarm, Albania, urgent challenge for air

Illustrative photo

The European Union has raised the alarm regarding air pollution in Albania. The EU emphasizes the urgent need to take measures to reduce pollution as much as possible and to improve air quality.

The Delegation of the European Union to Albania underlines that the Albanian authorities must urgently address the shortcomings in the air quality monitoring network and ensure that the data is shared transparently with the public.

"According to a 2021 UNEP study for the Western Balkans, air pollution remains an urgent challenge across the region. In Albania, air quality suffers from the combined effects of transport, industrial activities and residential heating. Meanwhile, according to the UNICEF Climate Risk Index for Children 2021, air pollution is the biggest health burden for children under five across the Western Balkans region, with 99% of children exposed to levels of air pollutants that can severely affect their health and development, leading to lifelong consequences.

In major cities such as Tirana, air quality often exceeds WHO recommended levels for harmful substances such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10). While Tirana may be at the highest level of urban pollution, other regions such as Elbasani, Fieri and Korça are equally affected, mainly due to industrial emissions. An assessment by the European Environment Agency concluded that air pollution in the environment has caused 4,600 premature deaths in Albania in 2021.

This is not just a statistic; it's a grim reality that translates into increased respiratory problems, health care costs and pressures on public services. "Poor air quality causes impairment of cognitive development that leads to poor school performance," the statement said.

The EU demolishes the propaganda and exposes Veliaj

On September 8, the mayor, Erion Veliaj, posted a photo on social networks and said that Tirana is listed in the "top-10" of European capitals with the largest urban tree coverage.

How Veliaj deceived us again about the trees in Tirana
September 13, 11:59

If Tirana were 10th in the list of European capitals with the largest urban tree coverage, would it be one of the countries with the most polluted air in the region.

This is clearly stated by the study.

"Protecting, maintaining and increasing urban and peri-urban tree and nature cover can help reduce exposure to urban pollution. For example, trees along roads act as a physical barrier, reducing the direct flow of pollutants from traffic to buildings. Healthy tree and nature cover can also reduce the generation and exposure to sand and dust in urban areas. The European Union will support reforestation and forest management in Albania through its "EU for Forests" program that will start next year.

Tirana drowned by garbage in the summer season.

Apart from the lie about the trees, where in fact in Tirana we see the opposite, concreting, towers, the summer season was a scandal in the management of Veliaj, if we can call it that.

For weeks on end, CNA has been observing every neighborhood and street of Tirana almost every day, showing that the capital could not breathe from the garbage that was being sent everywhere.

PHOTOFACT/ The whole of Tirana covered in garbage
September 14, 19:23
PHOTO- Garbage with caps on the streets of Tirana
September 13, 17:23

Garbage, bad smells, high temperatures were a potential risk to the health of citizens, who, although they pay the tax for garbage cleaning, about 29 euros/ton of waste, faced a scandalous situation, that of garbage scattered everywhere in the neighborhood and the streets of the capital.

Without forgetting to mention that more than 130 million euros were paid for an incinerator that does not exist and is on the verge of disaster, as all capacities have been exceeded.

Thus, once again it turned out that Veliaj not only mismanages the capital, but tends to turn a blind eye to the citizens of Tirana, for trees and air quality, when the truth is actually an alarm bell for the health of the citizens, the children who are future generations.

This is clearly stated by the position of the EU regarding air pollution in Albania, saying that it is a serious and urgent challenge for which measures must be taken./CNA