Citizens in Skopje again protest against air pollution

2024-12-28 17:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

ALARM!! - We want clean air', 'The future cannot be seen from smog', 'Our air is poison, our government is deaf' - these were some of the inscriptions on the banners held by the residents of Skopje, since Saturday, for the first time for the second time this month, they went on a protest march against air pollution.

As last time, also now, the protesters started the march from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, continued towards the Assembly and finished in front of the buildings of the City of Skopje.

Two weeks have passed since the first demands were submitted after the first protest, but so far, there has been no response from the institutions, the protest leaders pointed out.

The organizers, the 'Human Green City' initiative, together with the protesting citizens, presented four demands to fight air pollution in Skopje, including continuous public monitoring of industrial facilities, to ensure transparency on those who pollute the air.

"The second request concerns the ecological heating of facilities, such as the 'Kozle' Children's Clinic, which is still heated with oil. The third requirement is to resolve autocentrism in the city, with priority given to public transport and bicycles over cars, and the fourth requirement is better waste management", said Borjan Jovanovski from the citizen initiative "Human Green City".

The protesters, last time, on December 10, pointed out that the reason for the protest is the numerous cases of deaths related to air pollution, which, according to them, constitute 17.7% of the total mortality in the country.

"Every ninth case of infant death in North Macedonia is related to polluted air," the United Nations agency announced in September of this year.

Skopje has consistently been among the most polluted cities in the world in recent months, according to global air quality measuring company IQAir. Meanwhile, the only measure that applies during the period with the highest air pollution is free public transport.

On December 23, the authorities announced a new anti-pollution measure that they say will bring "a green future to the capital". It is about a project that will be implemented in three municipalities of Skopje: Aerodrom, Çair and Gazi Babë, with 100 electric vehicles, which will be able to be used by government institutions, companies and citizens through a paid mobile application.

The project will begin next year after the infrastructure is ready, including parking spaces and infills, which are said to use green energy. The investment for this project until 2030 is expected to cost around 30 million euros.

Meanwhile, civic ecological organizations opposed this decision, stressing that it is a step in the wrong direction. According to them, this initiative will bring more vehicles to the city, obstructing the already limited space.

On December 16, the civic organization, Iniciativa O2, in a written response to Radio Free Europe, announced a series of concrete measures addressed to municipal councilors and the mayor of the Municipality of Skopje, Danela Arsovska. The measures include: the ban on polluting fuels, the installation of wood filters, traffic control, the ban on the use of fuel oil and other fuels, the installation of cameras to monitor the burning of waste.

With these decisions, said the O2 Initiative, all sources of air pollution in Skopje will be included and their implementation will lead to the reduction of pollution levels within certain legal limits. According to them, within a short period, these levels could be twice, or much lower than the current ones, in accordance with the new EU Air Quality Directive.

Consequently, during the winter season, apart from Skopje, other cities such as Manastir, Tetova, Gostivari, Kir?ova, or even Ohrid, have high concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 particles.

From the health aspect, at the beginning of 2024 the Institute of Public Health published the report "Air pollution in the Republic of North Macedonia and health risks", according to which almost 18 percent of the total mortality in North Macedonia can be attributed to attributed to exposure to current concentrations of PM2.5 particles.

The latest data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) show that polluted air is the cause of over 5,000 premature deaths in North Macedonia./ REL