Protesters wearing surgicals masks gathered in Belgrade last week in hopes of sparking change in their current crisis; pollution. Many Serbian towns are sharing the discomfort of pollution with surrounding countries, such as Bosnia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. With the smog making living conditions undesirable, Belgrade has recently risen to the top of the list for the world’s most polluted city, hopping over Beijing and Delhi. Protestors are insisting that the government take action to clear the smog, especially pushing that this is not just an issue that affects the protestors. Members of the ruling party are breathing this air as well. The Global Alliance on health and pollution suggests that 175 out of every 100,000 Serbian deaths have ties to Pollution. Fresh breeze’s are the only thing providing small waves of relief for the Serbian people. This angers protesters even further, that they have to wait for a breeze to blow through just to breathe a breath of fresh air. The government has responded, commenting that heavy pollution is very common for them during the winter, and that they are taking steps to fix it. However, they added that the effects will be somewhat invisible for 6 to 7 years before the people of Belgrade and surrounding towns notice a difference. The pollution in Serbia can be attributed to a few things. Firstly, nearly two-thirds of Serbia’s electricity output comes from very old coal-fired plants. On top of that, given the high prices on natural gas that are unaffordable to many, people pretty much burn whatever they can find to heat their houses. This is a problem because certain materials really should not be burned or melted, especially not in a small confined space such as a house. Lastly, according to the article the streets in Belgrade and surrounding areas are often filled with old cars, only adding to the pollution. This is all incredibly dangerous and disheartening. People should not have to worry about the quality of the air that they are breathing in. This truly needs to be fixed immediately. Serbia’s failure to create a plan for cutting emissions has led to a dispute settlement brought up by the EC (Energy Community) against Belgrade.
