A protest against POLLUTION: „Polluted air KILLS 15,000 people a year“

A protest against air pollution was held in Belgrade, and citizens left requests for the adoption of measures against pollution and adequate informing of the public on that topic in front of the Government building.

Participants in the protest, which was announced by the informal citizens’ group „Eko straza“, gathered on the plateau at the Slavija Square, from where they headed through the Nemanjina Street to the Government building. Citizens leading the protesters carried the banner „For Serbia without smog!“.

As it was announced, Dragana Djordjevic, the Head of the Centre of Exceptional Values ​​for Chemistry and Environmental Engineering at the Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, addressed the citizens.

She said that Serbia is a signee of the Paris Agreement and it agreed to reduce the use of fossil fuels by 20 percent by the end of 2020, to increase energy efficiency by 20 percent and to increase the use of energy from renewable energy sources by that same percentage.

„None of that has been done. The air does not recognize the administrative borders, so we are also polluting the surrounding countries, which are in the EU, and because of that, Serbia will have serious consequences,“ Djordjevic pointed out.

Bojan Simisic of the „Eko strazar“ stated that the biggest problem of citizens is they do not have clear information about pollution, and many do not even know how to explain those results, where to look for them and what that means for our health. He also claims that „every year 15,000 people die as a result of pollution, which is a smaller city in Serbia.“

„The goal is for citizens to unite around this topic and send a request to institutions to finally start solving the problem of pollution. Measurements are not conducted where the biggest pollution is and the most dangerous levels are often not measured, thus this is, in a way, public deception,“ evaluated Simisic.

He added that activists demand solution to the problem of air pollution, which is an expensive and long-lasting process, but this protest is one step in series of activities to „force“ state and its institutions to act responsibly towards citizens’ health and quality of life.

Izvor: Beta, Agencije, BIZLife

Foto: BIZLife