Top 3 Most Read articles in December

After the success of our Top 10 Most Read articles in 2018, Balkan Green Energy News is introducing the Top 3 Most Read articles by month. The list is also available for the Serbian-language version of the website.

Here is what grabbed the most attention from our English-language readers in December.

1 – An interview with 3 participants of the Ministerial Conference Innovative Solutions to Pollution in South East and Southern Europe

A two-day Ministerial Conference Innovative Solutions to Pollution in South East and Southern Europe was organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Serbian Ministry of Environmental Protection in Belgrade in December, gathering ministers and high environmental representatives of countries from the region to discuss measures to reduce pollution and adopt the Joint Regional Vision on Innovative Solutions to Pollution.

Three of the participants in the conference – Sokratis Famellos, Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece, Lily Riahi, Programme Manager at UNEP’s Cities Unit, and Biljana Filipović Đušić, Assistant Minister for Environmental Protection, spoke to Balkan Green Energy News about how sustainable resource management and the circular economy – the topics in the focus of the conference – can help reduce pollution, as well as about projects their countries and organizations are implementing or plan to implement.

Participants of Belgrade Ministerial Conference – Reducing pollution in Southeast and South Europe is a national, regional and global challenge

2 – The region continues to struggle with air pollution, especially in winter months

PM2.5 – the codename for air pollution particles so fine they are all the easier to breathe in. The longer the exposure, the more serious the health impact. Various studies have found that PM2.5 exacerbates or causes lung and heart diseases and increases the mortality risk.

Air quality measurements by the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) showed Sarajevo to be the world’s most polluted city on a number of days in December, with PM2.5 levels marked “hazardous”, which stands for levels above 300, carrying the health alert that everyone may experience more serious health effects.

And while Sarajevo’s air pollution issues are compounded by the city’s geographic position, the hazardous PM2.5 levels drew attention to air pollution across the region, where energy poverty makes the situation all the worse in winter months.

Sarajevo world’s most polluted city, poor air quality seen across Western Balkans

3 – Serbia unveils plans for renewables auctions

After the Serbian government extended the decree on incentives for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources and high-efficiency heat and power cogeneration until the end of 2019, effectively pushing back the launch of renewables auctions, an official announced the delay will not be too long.

According to Miloš Banjac, assistant energy minister in charge of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, Serbia will hold its first auctions for the construction of wind farms and solar power plants in 2019.

“We will keep feed-in tariffs, but they will be determined in auctions,” he said.

Serbia to launch wind, solar auctions in H2 2019